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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28541913">The Tangled Neverland | Book I</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kastalani/pseuds/Kastalani'>Kastalani</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Tangled Neverland [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), 約束のネバーランド | Yakusoku no Neverland | The Promised Neverland (Anime), 約束のネバーランド | Yakusoku no Neverland | The Promised Neverland (Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AKA Tangled Characters In Grace Field, Death, Follows The Story In The First Season With Obvious But rather Small Changes, Found Family, POV Multiple, The Promised Neverland AU, The Promised Neverland Anime Spoilers, and a lot of it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:55:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>31,416</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28541913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kastalani/pseuds/Kastalani</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Life with House mother Gothel is a bliss for the kids at Grace Field orphanage, until Faith's adoption leads Rapunzel and Eugene to a dark discovery.</p><p>⬖╋⬗</p><p>This story follows the first season of the anime so non-manga readers have nothing to worry about. It won't be exact, obviously. Also, the summary is ripped from the summary Netflix has, as well as some of the dialogue though I tried to write my own words. The ages of the characters don't line up with the show, so Cass and Eugene are the same age and Raps is only half a year younger and so on. This is just how they worked in this story since I wanted to use characters from Tangled as much as I could instead of OCs. There's no need to have watched either of the shows before but this is basically one huge spoiler for TPN, so...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Tangled Neverland [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2090994</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi, I'm glad you clicked and I hope you stay for a bit longer! I'll put some of the characters ages, birthdays (not canon) and numbers below. The story starts, like in the original TPN, on October 12th 2045</p><p>Rapunzel [53194] 11, July 21<br/>Eugene [12194] - 11, February 13<br/>Varian [33394] - 9, December 12<br/>Cassandra [31194] - 11, January 2<br/>Lance [15194] - 10, April 30</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span> "What do you think is beyond the gate?" the brunette five-year-old asked her companions while she peaked through the bars of the gate. She could see a long hallway with two metal doors on each side. Beyond that was only darkness that hid the outside. Rapunzel had never before went past the gate or the fence that was in the forest surrounding the orphanage building. Mother Gothel never told them why exactly but that was the most important rule she set: never go beyond the gate. She only ever said that it was dangerous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "The outside, obviously," Eugene answered with a playful smile and nudged her in the side with his elbow. She giggled and pushed him away before he could repeat the gesture. An amused grunt was heard from the other girl that was there, Cassandra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cass looked away from the bars and at her younger siblings. She was half a year older than Rapunzel and though Eugene was only a month younger than her, Cassandra seemed to enjoy acting as if she was much, </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>older than him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel caught two bars with her hands and ineffectively tried to squeeze her face between them. She pouted and turned to the other two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I want to go outside! Why can't we go outside?!" she cried and received a pat on the head from Eugene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Because it's dangerous, that's why. Mother keeps us inside to keep us safe!" he explained happily but the look he shot the tunnel said that he, too, wanted to leave. Cassandra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms on her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "That's what she says but it's not," she huffed and turned away. Without expanding on her thought, she began walking, leaving her siblings nothing but to follow her. Rapunzel caught the sleeve of her white shirt, gaining the older's attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What would you do outside if it's not dangerous like Mother says?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cass eyed her for a moment before shrugging with a sigh. "What about you two?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I'd paint everything the world has!" Rapunzel answered excitedly and looked at her siblings with confusion when they started laughing. What was so funny?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel slowly blinked herself awake and yawned, sitting up and stretching. She rubbed her eyes with her fists and looked around the room. Then she was fully awake as a shot of energy shot through her. She jumped to her feet and stood on her bed, throwing her arms in the air as she exclaimed:</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Wake up, everybody!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> What answered her was a collective groan from the siblings she shared the room with. With a big grin, Rapunzel slid off her mattress and continued her effort to wake everybody up. The kids quickly began rising to change and, as the elder sibling, she helped the youngest with whatever they needed prior to getting dressed herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She chased after a few of them when they left the corridor and ran to the dining room. Laughing, she caught one of them, the four-year-old brunet Brock, and spun him in the air before setting him back down with a bearhug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Good morning, Sunshine!" Eugene greeted her from where he was setting one of the three tables. Rapunzel waved to him in return while Brock ran off to swamp the boy with a wave of questions. The girl could barely believe how similar they looked side to side, albeit Brock obviously appeared much younger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Hey, Raps." Cass passed her, pushing a cart of food. Rapunzel smiled at her and turned to another sibling that begged for her attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She was met with light blue eyes, freckles, and a head of black hair with a peculiar teal streak no one, not even Mother, knew the origin of. Varian grinned at her with his trademark buck-toothed smile and tugged at her arm once again. He clutched a plush raccoon to his chest, one that he had named Ruddiger when he was four.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Good morning, Varian," she said and ruffled his hair. The nine-year-old greeted her back and let go of her arm. After knowing the boy for basically her whole life — only two years she lived without him - she knew he had something to say. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so desperate for her attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Punzie, look at what I made!" He dug in his pocket for a moment before extending his arm to her. On his palm laid a golden-orange, translucent, drop-shaped chip, about the size of a thumb-joint. It was smooth and reflected light beautifully, at moments making it look like a little sun replica. "It's the oak sap I collected a few days ago. It hardened and Mother helped me polish it! She said it's called an amber." </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel smiled wider and cupped his face in her hands, planting a kiss on his forehead before he could squirm away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "It's beautiful, Varian. Now, can you help Eugene set the table? Brock's questioning again." The boy nodded eagerly and made his way to the tables as he repocketed the amber. Rapunzel looked at them for a moment while they maneuvered around the energetic four-year-old before turning and walking straight into Mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Flower, how many times must I tell you to look where you're going?" Mother asked amused as Rapunzel dropped to the ground to pick up the dropped utensils. The girl blushed and giggled awkwardly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, and passed the silverware back to Mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I know, I know, Mother. I'm sorry," she apologized. When Mother smiled good-naturedly and opened her arms, she ran into the hug with no hesitation. Mother combed her fingers through the girl's hair before letting go and stepping to the last few spots that weren't set completely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel caught the last few kids that were running around and lead them to their seats. After that, she took her own, close to Mother who, after the routine prayer, was feeding Faith. Rapunzel got kind of sad as she looked at the six-year-old — she was leaving today, adopted by a new family. She was going </span>
  <em>
    <span>outside</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Cassandra sighed with relief and put down the pen-resembling device, taking off her headphones. She finished yet another test and, from the looks of it, so did everyone else. Her siblings began shouting over each other, sharing their thoughts on how they did on the tests. As always during this time, a pit of somber emotions set itself in her stomach. It only got bigger when she heard Faith say she didn't answer most questions correctly though Varian's enthusiastic exclaim of the test being particularly easy today made her worries lift ever-so-slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Mother Gothel entered the room, holding a stack of papers with their scores. Cassandra bit her lip and averted her gaze to look at Faith's bright face as she hugged her stuffed mouse named Knight harder. The young girl swayed on her heels as she smiled, obviously awaiting an opening to hug Mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "The results are in!" Mother singsonged and glanced down at the papers. Her smile widened as she found Varian with her eyes. "Varian, my Moon, you got a nearly perfect score! Only a few points off. Have you been studying harder?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian's grin could blind when the other children got to him to congratulate him. Cassandra stayed back, only a little bitter about the fact that he seemed to always get better scores than her. For some reason, even with all the learning she did, she was never able to top him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> When most of their siblings dispersed and left the room, Cassandra found her way to the boy and put a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't stop a smile when he grinned at him with such pride.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I really need to step up my game to beat you, huh?" she said though she knew that wouldn't happen. It was already October and her twelfth birthday was in January. She will leave the orphanage by that time, as every child that reached their dozenth year. No matter how much reading she could fit into that time, if Varian kept up with the almost-perfect scores she wouldn't beat him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Looks like you do, Cassie!" She let the nickname slip. Only he called her that and he wasn't at all concerned with how many times she would berate him for that, it seemed. And right now, she really didn't feel like arguing. She was too tired. for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian caught her wrist and pulled her towards the door, laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Come on, Cassie! There's laundry to be done! Maybe I'll be able to find some new reactions!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Varian set Ruddiger under the tree next to Cassandra who was reading a book. He furrowed his brows and smiled. Usually, it was he who was set with a book or new experiment while the others played tag in the forest. Today he was convinced into being 'it' and Cassie kept track of the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian stretched one last time before Cassie looked at the pocket watch that Mother gave them specifically for this and nodded for him to run. The boy started down the hill, already analyzing his surroundings as normal when he was dragged into the game.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He knew he had little chance of outrunning many of his siblings — all of the older kids and even some of the younger ones were faster than him. That's why he had to rely on tricks and traps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He smiled at himself as he entered the shadows of the forest. Fifteen minutes to catch everyone. No problem. He'll catch the majority in ten.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Eugene crept through the shadows quietly, followed closely by Lance. They both knew of Varian's intelligence. They also knew that as long as they don't allow themselves to be surprised by him they have the win in their pockets. Unfortunately, Eugene had to reluctantly agree that Varian was hard to outwit when he moved almost like a ghost and knew everyone enough to set the perfect traps. Come to think of it, how did the kid even get so smart? He learned from the same things all of them did but he got much better scores than everyone, even Cass who seemed to always be learning when not doing chores or playing tag with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Anyhow, Eugene stopped between the bushes and put his hand out in front of Lance, signaling for him to do the same. He carefully looked between the branches and gestured for the ten-year-old to come closer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They watched silently as Varian walked through the clearing, casting glances around, searching like a predator would its prey. Honestly, it was kind of unnerving to see a nine-year-old with such a look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian stopped and crouched down, inspecting something not visible to Eugene. He bit down a yelp when his eyes shot towards the bush he and Lance were hiding in. Lance wasn't as composed and a whimper left his lips. Eugene shot to his feet — there was no reason to hide, now that Varian rushed towards them. He gripped Lance's shoulder and dragged him away. They ran, leaving Varian behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel sat in a tree, watching her surroundings, searching for Varian. She swung her legs back and forth and tried to tune out the short screams of her siblings being caught. Varian had this thing that when he tricked someone, he usually snuck up on them and took them by surprise, scaring them. He was gentler with the youngest but they were also much easier to frighten. He also didn't play enough for them to get used to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She tensed up in alarm when she heard a rustling in the bushes. When she saw it was just Kiera and Catalina, she relaxed. The two seven-year-olds sprinted towards a different tree and helped each other up the branches. They were obviously suppressing giggles — had they escaped Varian's clutches? Rapunzel knew of their little rivalry and how upset either of the sides when it couldn't best the other, and, of course, how happy the winning side was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> That's when her eyes landed on a small canvas. She scrunched up her nose. It wasn't there a moment before. Varian must've planted it. But Varian wasn't there, was he? And the surface of the square canvas was covered in paint. She couldn't see what was made of that paint but the bright colors looked so inviting... No, no, no! It was a trick, she knew that!</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She looked to the sky. It's only been a few minutes since they started. Would she really have to wait around ten minutes to inspect the painting? That was too long! Surely Varian wouldn't catch her if she quickly swooped down to get the canvas. She would get right back on the tree, fast enough that Varian won't catch her. She was confident in her speed, she knew she could do it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel made her decision, ignoring the quiet voice in her head that told her she would regret it. She landed a few steps away from the painting, it was just out of reach. She scrambled towards it and snatched it up but froze when a hand caught her forearm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Gotcha, Punzie," Varian laughed and Rapunzel groaned. She knew this was a trap, why did she fall for it? "You're too curious for your own good, Rapunzel!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel rolled her eyes and looked down at the painting in her hands. She wanted to see what she got in return for her loss. As soon as she saw it, her frustration vanished like it was never there and she smiled softly. Varian painted it, she could tell from the style. It depicted her holding a paintbrush. Next to the Paint-Punzel was the boy with a bunch of colorful chemicals in beakers and other containers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Her head snapped back up when she heard laughing and disappointed grunting. Looked like Varian found Kiera and Catalina. All three of them climbed down the tree and the girls ran back to the house, making faces at Varian over their shoulders. The boy walked up to Rapunzel with a bright smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Do you like it?" She knew he already figured out her answer from her own grin and from how she was hugging the canvas. That didn't stop her from nodding eagerly before running the same way Kiera and Catalina had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> "Times up!" Cassandra screamed, loud enough for the last three in the forest to hear. She was quite proud of how loud her voice could get though Mother didn't exactly approve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>  After less than a minute the figures that could only be Varian, Eugene, and Lance ran up the hill, the two older boys cheered on. Cassandra could see the bitterness in Varian's eyes as he reluctantly congratulated the winners. Everyone knew he didn't like losing, whether it was a game or an argument. He was probably so sure he could get everyone but alas, he had underestimated his siblings, it seemed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel was already heading to him to make him feel better, holding Ruddiger in one hand and still clutching his painting in the other. Cassandra swallowed the lump of jealousy that nested itself in her throat. As much as she hated to admit it, she sometimes envied Rapunzel and how everyone adored her, even Mother favored her. And Cassandra? She was left waiting for her twelfth birthday when she wouldn't have to look at Rapunzel — or any of her siblings, for that matter — again. Though it was her fault that she didn't try to get very close to all of her siblings. Most of the time she was content with just Rapunzel and the occasional Varian-Eugene duo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She closed her book and stood up, stretching. This round, she's playing. And she's going to make them run from her. A lot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel was running, searching. The last round of tag for the day and everybody was playing. They were all 'it' besides Eugene and Rapunzel was very much determined to catch him. Surprisingly, Varian was able to keep up with her with the help of many shortcuts but he was panting by the time they found themselves near the fence that ran through the forest. Rapunzel decided on an obligatory break — both because her brother looked like he was about to pass out and because she was curious about the fence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Mother said that beyond the fence is dangerous but never said why. As much as Rapunzel loved their caretaker, that irritated her. She really wanted to go and see the world but Mother said she has to wait to be adopted and who knows how much longer she will have to wait for that! Well, alright, the latest anybody has been adopted so far was their twelfth birthday but that was still almost a full year away for her. It just didn't seem fair to her — Faith was getting adopted today, at six years, while Rapunzel was already eleven and no sign of a new family anywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> That didn't mean she didn't like it at the orphanage. She loved the other orphans like siblings though they weren't blood-related. She just wanted something more, something new, something exciting and unknown. Life at Grace Field was already a routine that rarely strayed away from its schedule and she was bored, hungry for an adventure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> A yelp startled her and her head shot up to see Eugene a few feet away from her, also standing with his hands clutched on the fence. It was him who made the noise when Varian kicked him right above his ankle. Now the older boy was glaring daggers at the younger, shaking his foot like he was shaking away the pain. Rapunzel smiled at him sympathetically. Their shoes were pointy-toed and Varian knew exactly how to use that to his advantage when kicking Eugene or Lance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian smiled brightly and put his hand on the other's wrist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Game over," he said, satisfied. Eugene pushed him away with an angered grunt and stomped his foot down. Varian giggled and ran back to Rapunzel. "We won, Punzie!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She nods and looks back over the fence. "Never go near the gate or fence... But what's so dangerous besides some plants?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Well, maybe the animals are silent," Varian said and Eugene came closer to stand next to Rapunzel. "Apparently snakes can have very strong venom but they're small and sneaky enough we can't hear them moving."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Or Mother's lying." The three startled and looked to Cassandra who walked up. She didn't stop herself from hitting Eugene on the back of the head. Then she glanced at them and pointed to the space beyond the fence. "There's nothing remotely dangerous over there. If it was snakes or something similar, what would stop them from crossing the fence? They wouldn't have rules keeping them from it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Mother wouldn't lie to us!" Rapunzel pouted and crossed her arms on her chest. "I just want to know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>it's dangerous."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Hey, what're you guys doing way back here?" Lance exclaimed, coming out of the bushes, Faith close behind him. After a moment Nigel appeared as well, pulling leaves from his low ponytail. Lance's gaze landed on Eugene and he smirked victoriously. "Ah, Flynnigan Ryder got caught, huh?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene rolled his eyes at the name of his favorite book character and Rapunzel chuckled. Varian looked up at the sky and squinted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We should be heading back around now, shouldn't we? If we stay out for too long, Mother will get worried." His words were met with nodding and supportive noises but then Lance spoke up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We'll have to leave here eventually," he stated, looking to Faith with a smile and ruffling her hair. The girl giggled with delight and seemed to melt into his touch. Seeing her so happy made Rapunzel feel warm and good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>an orphanage, so of course, by the time we turn twelve, we will leave. It's no secret," Nigel snorted, looking at Lance like he was an idiot. Rapunzel loved Nigel like all of her siblings but she had to admit, sometimes he needed to get off his high-horse and treat everyone as equal to himself because this wasn't the first time he seemed to look down on Lance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian furrowed his brows and tugged at Rapunzel's sleeve, effectively gaining her attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You know, it's weird that we don't get any letters from our siblings that left. Do you think they forgot about us?" Rapunzel wondered for a moment. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>true, that they never got any sign from those who got adopted but she never really thought about it. From the murmuring of others, she guessed they haven't either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "They're probably just being considerate to their new families, relax," Eugene said with a reassuring smile and put a hand on Faith's shoulder, crouching down to level his face with hers. "Or it's just that amazing outside that they just can't find the time because they're on marvelous adventures."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "In that case, let's be happy for them!" Rapunzel threw her hands out with a huge smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Faith grinned and threw her arms around Eugene's neck with a thrilled squeal. He quickly stood up, picking her up and twirling around in the air before simply hugging her as she hid her face in his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I'm going to write a lot of letters, promise!" she laughed and shifted in his grasp to look at everybody. The others cheered her on in the vow and when they quieted down, Rapunzel glanced from one to the other, stopping at Eugene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "When you go outside, what do you want to do? What dreams do you have?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I want to travel," Eugene said, starting a string of answers. Lance wanted to get rich and travel with Eugene, Faith intended to become a loving mom like Mother (everyone assured her she will definitely accomplish that, besides Cass who just looked away), Nigel wished to meet a king and Varian aspired to become a known alchemist and inventor. Cassandra's answer was a little odd as she just desired to survive but no matter. The question came back to Rapunzel but she didn't even get to open her mouth before the others chorused her dream of wanting to paint everything in the world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Wow, am I really </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>obvious?" She blushed and chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yes, yes you are, Sunshine. You've been saying that ever since you learned to speak and could hold a paintbrush," Eugene answered and began walking away, carrying Faith. "Now, we really should go back or Mother will get </span>
  <em>
    <span>beyond </span>
  </em>
  <span>worried."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> It was the evening when everyone gathered in the hall in front of the entry door. Faith wasn't wearing the usual white shirt and skirt — instead, she wore a black jacket, black fedora, and gray pants. She held Knight close, standing in front of Mother who carried the young girl's suitcase in one hand and stroked her head with the other. It was time to say goodbye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I might've not been as smart as you—" she pointed a look at Varian who smiled sheepishly, "—or as fast as you, and I might've needed to rely on everyone but I loved every moment I got to spend with you in this house. I— I'll miss you all very, very much." Her voice wavered and it was clear to Eugene she was trying her best not to cry. He sympathized with her except at this point, after so many goodbyes, he was able to stop his tears fairly easily. The same couldn't be said for Rapunzel who was tugging at her hair as tears welled in her eyes. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it encouragingly. It didn't do much besides making her stifle a sniff and wipe her eyes with her sleeve. In turn, Faith broke and tears began flowing down her cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I don't want to leave!" she cried as Mother tried desperately to calm her down. The dam broke for Rapunzel as well and all Eugene could do was pass her a handkerchief from Nigel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> After a moment, they all stared as the door closed behind Mother and Faith, Rapunzel still wiping down her face. Slowly, the children began dispersing to get to their chores and get ready to bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel was sweeping the dining room floor but a short glance at the tables froze her in place. A familiar toy sat on one of them when it really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>shouldn't be there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Faith!" she exclaimed, dropping the broom and running up to the table to snatch up Knight. How had the girl forgotten it?! She was literally holding it during their goodbyes — how could it end up </span>
  <em>
    <span>in the dining room</span>
  </em>
  <span>?! She sighed. No matter, Faith was probably long gone. She would simply have to give the stuffed animal to Mother when she comes back so that she could send it to its owner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You know, the lights are still on at the gate and Mother hasn't returned yet. I'm sure Faith hasn't left yet." Rapunzel jumped when Cassandra came up to her from behind. She looked over at her best friend with a worried look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "But we're not supposed to go near the gate," she attempted to explain her unwillingness to go. A dark feeling nested itself in her stomach, preventing her from excitedly going to aid Faith.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "Come on, let's go together and get scolded later. I'm sure Faith will be out-of-her-mind worried if she leaves without Knight."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel hesitated only for a moment before nodding and let herself be pulled outside by Eugene. They began running, desperate to get to the gate before Faith left. Rapunzel was a bit unnerved by the complete and utter darkness that surrounded them and a few times she almost fell because of a stray rock but continued, ready to have this behind herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They halted at the gate. It was open! That was probably the first time they've seen it like that. Rapunzel faltered before taking the step inside but Eugene caught her hand and squeezed reassuringly. They walked past the gate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene immediately skipped over to inspect the huge machine in the middle of the dark, silent hall. Rapunzel guessed it was a truck and also looked it over but from a distance. She's never seen a vehicle before. It was probably what would take Faith to her new home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Oh!" Rapunzel gasped softly and walked over to the back of the truck where a gloomily gray tarp hid its insides. She looked to where Eugene was checking the driver's seat through the open window. "She'll see it if we put it here, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He turned to her and nodded before returning to his examination. Rapunzel smiled and lifted the edge of the tarp. As soon as she saw the insides, her heart sunk and a wave of chilling fear ran through her. She dropped Knight to the ground and took two shaky steps back, breathing quickly. A barely repressed shriek escaped her lips and she pressed her hands to her mouth to prevent another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Eugene..." she whispered, not able to take her eyes of the horrible sight. It was a body, legs bent unnaturally, pale as if all blood was sucked out of it, the eyes way too wide and hair ruined, in tangles. A stem with many small, red flowers pierced the body's chest. She found Faith.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Only a horrified gasp notified her that Eugene saw their sister as well. Rapunzel carefully looked over to him and he turned to her, no color in his face, his eye wide and pupils shrunk. She suspected she looked similar, if not worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Is there someone there?" Rapunzel bit down on her lip to prevent a scream and tasted blood but didn't even feel the pain. She heard, however, her heart pounding like a bell, except much faster. Eugene seemed to have kept a more leveled head than her because when one of the metal doors opened with a deafening screech, he pulled her under the truck by her arm. Rapunzel only had enough of her mind to snatch Knight with them as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "If it was a stray cat, I would've caught it for dinner," the same voice complained and steps sounded through the hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You eat those disgusting things?" a different voice answered. Rapunzel peeked out from under the truck and spilled even more of her own blood when she registered what she was seeing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel didn't pin herself as a coward and someone who can barely keep her fear on a leash but when she saw those... creatures... she wanted to run to Mother and start crying. There were three and they were quite different from each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> One was tall, rather slim, cloaked in black, with a white bone-like mask and two eyes, one above the other. It had long, gray fingers and sharp nails and it held a clipboard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The two others were bulkier, taller, also in black but not cloaks, more like skinsuits, and with similar masks and eyes. What differed between them was that one was plumper, more obese. It was also the shorter one, the other being more muscular, like a bodyguard. Their hands also had those creepy, long fingers and nails.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The fatter one carried a big cylinder filled with light blue liquid. It somewhat resembled those test tubes Varian always rambled about except shorter than the width would indicate it should be. It set it down with a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>thud</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel shivered when one of the bigger monsters picked up Faith's limp body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "It looks so delicious, I wish I could have just a fingertip," it said hungrily before dunking the body in the cylinder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Don't be a fool, that is premium quality meat. This farm gives only the best products. We are in no position to eat them, only the rich can afford human flesh from here," another one growled. Rapunzel turned to Eugene, hit with a realization. There was absolutely no way Mother was in on this, right? But if she wasn't, then how...</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Where's Mother?" she whispered. Eugene instantly put his finger to his mouth, shushing her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Another six-year-old..." one of them said. It sounded somewhat disappointed or dismayed. Rapunzel reckoned it was the tall one as it was looking at its clipboard, running its nail down the papers. "We've only been shipping out average ones lately. Not to worry, we'll be harvesting some of the high-grade stocks soon enough. Right, Gothel?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel wanted to scream, and cry, and just throw a tantrum when she heard Mother's name and saw her stand next to the demon. A quick glance at her brother told her he felt similar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yes," she said without emotion. Rapunzel had never heard her like that and she didn't like it in the slightest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "These two oldest are to be prepared for plucking. And help the high-scoring one increase its quality to a full score." The demon turned to Mother. Her face was void of anything as she answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yes, sir, I understand."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Hold on, I smell something," the same monster said, passing its clipboard to Mother. That's when Eugene had obviously decided they weren't safe and pulled Rapunzel from under the truck, quickly and silently. They didn't waste time and began running for the house, adrenaline not letting them stop until they were at the feet of the hill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel fell to her knees, panting, while Eugene bent over, taking big gusts of air. After a moment, when she could speak again, she looked to him with a wary smile. This was all just a mistake, a hallucination, a bad dream, and her brother was going to confirm that in a simple answer, of course.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "That wasn't Faith, right?" Eugene gulped and slowly shook his head. Rapunzel inhaled sharply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I'm afraid that was Faith, Rapunzel." She couldn't keep it in any longer, feeling as if her heart was being ripped to pieces, restitched, and then torn again. She put her face to the ground and wailed and screamed, not caring who heard her. Faith, her darling little sister, was dead when she was supposed to go live happily with her new family. She was supposed to grow up and become a mom, as great and as loving of a mom as Mother. Because Mother was loving. She had to be. She had to, she had to, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she had to</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Because if she wasn't, then what was she?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "So we're all just... Food?" she asked, interrupted by sobbing every other word. She couldn't believe it. She didn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>want to</span>
  </em>
  <span> believe it, even though she saw it with her own eyes just a moment ago because if it was all true, not just a gruesome nightmare... Rapunzel began choking on her own tears as bile rose in her throat. None of her siblings went to foster homes. They all went to slaughter, like... like simple cattle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Eugene was horrified. Well, horrified was an understatement, actually, but he didn't know a word that displayed more terror. Just today he was carrying Faith, laughing with her, hugging her. And now? Now, she was gone and he had to keep Rapunzel from falling when they entered the house. He already realized a great mistake they made — they left Knight under the truck — but didn't bother to tell Rapunzel about it. She was already devastated enough as is. It was odd to watch her without a smile, grieving like that. Of course, she's been upset before but it was never something like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>, though, to be honest, this was a situation from their worst nightmares.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "How'd it go?" Cassandra stood on the stairs in her pajamas, holding a lit lantern. Eugene looked away, barely trusting his voice, let alone his face and eyes red from tears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We were... late..." he whispered. Eugene recognized that it wasn't the greatest way he's ever hidden something, especially since they didn't bring the damned mouse back and Rapunzel's lip was bleeding, however, he was too exhausted to think of a better lie. He just helped Rapunzel up the stairs, past Cassandra, and into her bed before finding his way to his own. The boy fell on it, feeling heavy as a stone, and buried his face in his pillow. He wished for everything to fade away, to go back to normal, to wake up from this awful nightmare but that was impossible. The demons, the way Mother looked and spoke, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Faith</span>
  </em>
  <span>... that would forever be engraved in his memory.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. II</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mother Gothel makes planning an escape harder in a few ways. Cassandra is suspicious and Eugene becomes a thief. Wait, why is there black and blue in the bushes?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter was initially supposed to be longer. I decided against it because- well, just because. Hope you enjoy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rapunzel was acting weird, Varian noted. As a matter of fact, Eugene was, too, except he hid whatever was bothering him much better. It was the first thing he noticed in the morning, right when he awoke because she hadn't woken him up with her usual enthusiasm — heck, she hadn't even yelled while standing on her bed. She looked exhausted, as if something put out her flame and she wasn't able to reignite it. Her eyes were empty, dark, <em> sad  </em>and there was a thin line of a fresh wound on her lower lip like she bit it. She only ever bit her lip when trying to remain silent in hiding but never hard enough to puncture it. And that was what he saw just in their bedroom.</p><p>When they came down for breakfast she dragged her feet, similar to how a prisoner that's given up hope walks with a ball-and-chain. She didn't even run up to Mother to hug her. Instead, she cast her a fearful glance before looking away. Her usual greetings were quiet, forced through unwilling lips and when he showed her a new drawing, she barely smiled. Something was very wrong with his sister and he wanted to figure out what was capable of making her this way. It was almost as if she saw all their siblings dead.</p><p>Then Eugene came into the picture, carrying a stack of plates. He was able to uphold his cheery self but his smile was just a bit smaller than normal, his voice just a tiny amount more forced. Whatever had happened to those two happened to both of them together, it seemed, since Eugene whispered something to Rapunzel and she cracked a fake smile.</p><p>He watched them as they ate. Rapunzel had to force her fork into her mouth and chew and swallow and it looked to come with great effort. On the other hand, Eugene's arm trembled but otherwise he acted the same, answering Brock's questions with annoyed huffs and whatnot. Neither of them looked to Mother even once, neither of them bestowed her a single smile.</p><p>During the test, he couldn't focus on them, occupied by the questions and when doing laundry, they isolated themselves away from everyone, even Cassandra. She was alone and, for the lack of Rapunzel for both of them, bound to have him following her.</p><p>"Cassie," he trilled, carrying a basin of water behind her. He set it down when she stopped and knelt down with the soap and grate she was holding. Nigel passed them an armload of sheets and clothes and went away to help the others. Cassandra began washing the fabrics and Varian watched her intently.</p><p>"Yeah, kid?" she asked, casting him a short glance.</p><p>"Do you know what happened to Punzie and Eugene? They're acting weird," he asked and he could swear the girl froze for a split second before regaining her composure.</p><p>"They went to the gate yesterday evening. Probably just thinking how to come clean with the smallest consequences, nothing to worry your striped hair about," she explained calmly and smiled at him softly. She then proceeded to splash some of the soapy water at him and he laughed.</p><p>"Cassie!"</p><p>"Don't call me that!"</p><p> </p><p>⬖╋⬗</p><p> </p><p>"We need to escape as soon as possible," Rapunzel said abruptly after working in silence long enough for them to begin hanging up sheets to dry. Eugene looked at her incredulously.</p><p>"<em> How </em>, Sunshine? You saw the gate. It's either closed or the demons are there," he said, pain evident in his voice. Rapunzel clenched her fists on the shirt she was holding and gave him a determined look.</p><p>"We have to do something," she said, running her tongue over her wound. Mother hadn't seemed to notice it yet but it would be best if it healed. "We can't let out siblings die. Maybe— maybe beyond the fence we'll find another way."</p><p>Eugene stared at her for a moment, biting the insides of his cheeks in thought. Hesitant, he nodded carefully. "We'll check during free time. Now, can we talk about the demons? We need to figure some things out, like why did it say Faith was 'average'?"</p><p>Rapunzel wondered for a moment before answering as she hanged the shirt.</p><p>"Maybe because she was six? You know, twelve is best quality, six is worst. That would work with how it said that the two oldest are high-grade." She looked away awkwardly. "That's you and Cass, isn't it?"</p><p>The boy nodded and put his hand up to his mouth for a moment, blood leaving his face for a bit. Rapunzel could definitely understand the reaction. After all, they <em> were  </em>speaking about how his body ranked as merchandise. She would feel sick as well.</p><p>"So what does the score have to do with anything?" she questioned and almost immediately answered herself: "Faith always said she had low test scores. Same with Horace... and Hamuel." She stuttered at the reminder of the last two siblings that got 'adopted'. The boys were also low-scorers which would maybe imply a pattern.</p><p>"Shipping order," Eugene snapped his fingers in realization. Rapunzel's eyes widened. That... kind of made sense. Between six and twelve kids would get shipped from lowest scores to highest and when they hit twelve, they would get shipped no matter what. It would mean it wasn't random and Eugene, Cass, and herself have survived so long because they got lucky and no one besides Varian was smarter than them. She felt terrible for the siblings that didn't get so fortunate. Then another thing that the demon said hit her.</p><p>"But why did it talk about getting a perfect score to increase quality? Meat won't start tasting better if it does well on some test," she wondered. Eugene pursed his lips before exhaling slowly.</p><p>"I think... it may be the development of the brain," he said slowly. Rapunzel froze. "I think the demons think the brain tastes the best."</p><p>She shivered and ran her hand through her hair. It was a lot to take in and it wasn't even nice information she could quickly get accustomed to. Imagining <em> human meat </em> on a platter was something she didn't want but couldn't prevent but now visualizing a brain next to that? Even worse. Bile rose in her throat and she snapped the last clip onto the rope aggressively. She looked at Eugene.</p><p>"Okay, now we just need to get through lunch without throwing up. We can do that, right?"</p><p> </p><p>⬖╋⬗</p><p> </p><p>Eugene stepped over the fence and turned to the wavering Rapunzel. He gave her a thumbs up matched with a smile and she joined him, though on shaking legs. They began walking, shoulders almost touching. Eugene would've rathered to run but figured Rapunzel wouldn't get far in this state.</p><p>At first, their surroundings, while unfamiliar, weren't foreign, almost identical in terrain to where they played daily. That comforted Eugene. If it was just a forest that laid beyond the fence it wouldn't be a problem to escape. That dream shattered when the tall, gray wall rose in front of them. It was smooth, with no spots to grab on to and it was many meters taller them — about three times their height at least, he speculated.</p><p>Rapunzel didn't wait for him. She quickly climbed the tree closest to the wall and Eugene didn't even have time to protest. The girl was already standing on the highest branch that could support her weight, squinting at the wall.</p><p>"What do you see?" he called and she looked down at him.</p><p>"There's nothing on top of the wall. It looks two or three meters thick. Beyond it, I see some trees. No guards or anything, anywhere. Only Mother will be watching us." Rapunzel jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully. Eugene scratched his chin and put a hand to the wall's surface.</p><p>"Still, there's no way to climb it without a— a thing from outside," he whispered, not trusting his voice not to break if he spoke louder. He looked to his sister and she smiled faintly.</p><p>"It should be no problem if we get a rope."</p><p> </p><p>⬖╋⬗</p><p> </p><p>When they made their way back to the house, they were panting. No one seemed to really notice except Cassandra who gave Rapunzel a pat on the back before returning to their hoard of siblings. Mother was nearby, watching over them. Rapunzel deeply hoped she would pin their fatigue as a consequence of playing games.</p><p>"Two are missing," Cassandra called, furrowing her brows. An answer came pretty quickly in the form of a sobbing form of a five-year-old girl.</p><p>"Mother!" Juniper cried, trying ineffectively to wipe her tears away. Her normally neat waist-length braid of deep green hair was in disarray, the light blue bow usually keeping it together almost falling off. The brown eyes were brimmed with red and puffy from crying. Rapunzel felt the pull to go and comfort her sister but she expected to tip over if she took even a step.</p><p>Mother came up with a worried expression and let the girl hug her. She began combing her fingers through her hair, taking the bow off fully and untangling what was leftover from the braid.</p><p>"Did something happen, Berry?" she questioned softly. Juniper sniffed and clenched her fists on Mother's skirt.</p><p>"I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I lost Feldspar when we were playing in the forest!"</p><p>Rapunzel winced, fighting the urge to just run back down the hill and look for her brother. She was worried about what might happen to him — after all, he was only four. It wouldn't take much for him to get hurt, even if he was not one to stray from familiar and frequently-used paths.</p><p>She observed as Mother took out her pocket watch and opened it. While Rapunzel had to admit that she was always curious about the pretty silver thing since she never let anyone see it up close she didn't think this was the time to check the time. When Mother looked up from it and put it back in her pocket, she unclasped Juniper's fingers from herself and turned to the children with a warm smile.</p><p>"Don't worry, dears, I'll go find him. Wait here, I won't be long." She began walking down the hill. Rapunzel furrowed her brows, watching her. She was so focused that she yelped and jumped when a hand touched her forearm.</p><p>"Where were you?" Varian asked, frowning. "Nobody could find you after lunch. It was like you disappeared or went somewhere no one ever goes."</p><p>The kid was too observant for their secret. Rapunzel always knew he saw things none of the other kids did, that he was able to deduct vital information from something small but this seemed like more than usual, like he was specifically trying to figure something out. She never expected to hate that about him but here she was. Luckily, Eugene jumped in to help.</p><p>"Seriously? I thought you were smarter, kid. If we keep moving you can't guarantee that we weren't in the spots you checked. We just moved before or after you looked there!" he laughed and ruffled Varian's hair. The nine-year-old puffed out his cheeks and stomped his foot on the ground but didn't argue. Instead, he hugged Rapunzel.</p><p>"Then why were you avoiding everyone, Punzie?" he whined. When Eugene smirked and opened his mouth, Varian scoffed at him. "Besides Eugene."</p><p>"We just wanted to spend a day together, is all. Eugene and Cassandra are leaving in a few months, after all." She forced a smile. Rapunzel felt terrible for lying to her brother but this was for the best. She didn't want to relay the awful truth to him. "Now I should check on Juni. She seems devastated, doesn't she?"</p><p>Varian glanced at the younger girl that almost everyone has crowded around, trying to calm her down. He sighed and let go of Rapunzel though he shot her a disbelieving look before going over to the rest of his siblings and squeezing between them. The boy called something about Ruddiger and then his voice got mixed in with the others.</p><p>"He's onto us, isn't he?" Rapunzel sighed and tugged at her hair. "That's not good. I don't know how much I can lie to him."</p><p>Eugene hummed in thought before brightening up. He held up a finger, indicating he had an idea.</p><p>"What if we let him in on the secret? He <em> is  </em>the smartest one, isn't he?" Rapunzel gasped and hit him in the shoulder. He laughed but quickly calmed down when she glared at him, waving her hands around in protest.</p><p>"No, no and a thousand times no," she hissed, warily looking over to their siblings. "He's nine, Eugene. We're eleven, you almost twelve, and we almost break down under that. We don't even know how to explain it. We're <em> not  </em>telling him, no matter how smart he may be."</p><p>"Well, how about Cassandra, then? We need to tell <em> someone </em>," he asked, shrugging. Rapunzel stopped herself from immediately opposing, deciding instead to think it through.</p><p>It was true that they probably weren't able to plan everything themselves and Cass <em> was  </em>the second smartest in the house. She was also the oldest, the most mature of them. She should be able to handle it and they could really use her help a lot. So, Rapunzel nodded slowly and Eugene's grin widened.</p><p>"Great! Now, I think Juniper needs a hug." The girl smiled weakly and ran off to the sniffling Juniper. Her siblings parted, letting her get close and embrace the five-year-old. Neither of them said anything but the younger clung onto Rapunzel like her life depended on it. That thought wasn't too far off now, was it?</p><p>Then delighted gasps sounded and Juniper lifted her head. She squealed in happiness and squirmed out of Rapunzel's grasp, running up to Mother who was carrying a sleeping Feldspar up the hill. Rapunzel frowned as she watched her siblings swarm around Mother. She's never noticed before how quickly she was able to find them like she always knew exactly where they were.</p><p>"Feldspar just got tired and fell asleep in the forest, nothing to worry about," Mother assured. Rapunzel glanced around and joined Eugene away from the crowd. He had his arms crossed, suspicious gaze fixated on the tracker.</p><p>"She found him too fast." He looked to her and she confirmed, clenching her fists. "It's almost like a... like a... a tracker." His eyes widened and he caught her shoulders, turning her towards himself. He looked at her fearfully and gulped. "I think she has..."</p><p>Rapunzel nodded carefully, trying not to give in to panic. If that was true, their position went from bad to worse. Mother knew where they were at all times! She bit down on her lip, wincing at the sting of reopening her wound.</p><p>"What's up with you two?" Her head snapped up to Cassandra as Eugene quickly backed off. The older girl was standing with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. She quieted her voice, looking around to make sure no one heard them. Rapunzel was extremely grateful for that. "You've been acting super weird since you went to the gate."</p><p>Before Rapunzel could cover it up with some weak lie, Eugene leaned forward with a mischievous smirk.</p><p>"Tell you what. Find us in the library in a couple minutes and we will tell you," he whispered and straightened back up, stretching his arms behind his head. Cassandra gave him an odd look before shrugging with a pout and mixing in with the other kids going into the house.</p><p> </p><p>⬖╋⬗</p><p> </p><p>Eugene and Rapunzel sat at the table furthest from the library door, hidden behind bookshelves. Not many went there, deciding instead to hang out where toys could be easily set up on the bigger tables. Regardless, it was a fairly decent spot to talk in without anyone finding you.</p><p>The boy was looking at his sister sketching a rough picture of the slim demon that had a clipboard the previous day. While they both realized it wouldn't be very accurate Rapunzel had insisted on trying to draw it to show to Cassandra.</p><p>"Very well," Eugene had said when she came to him with that decision. "Just get rid of it a way that Mother doesn't see it."</p><p>So now he stared silently as she focused, trying her best to remember while chewing on the end of her pencil. Every so often he looked up, expecting Cassandra to come but he hadn't seen her yet. He began wondering if she chose against meeting up with them.</p><p>They would be very unfortunate if that was the case. If Cass didn't believe them, who would? Even if Rapunzel and agreed to tell Varian or someone else if their best friend didn't trust them enough to not lie about something like this then who would? Besides, she was their best bet for help after the almost-perfect-scorer <em> and  </em>the only one the younger girl seemed to be content about sharing the truth with. </p><p>But then he was ripped from his thoughts by the screeching of a chair moving. He looked and smirked at Cassandra who leaned over the table to see what Rapunzel was drawing. She quickly passed her the picture, watching her intensely. Cassandra took a moment to examine it before shooting them amused looks.</p><p>"What's this?" she asked, turning the paper to them. Eugene knew it wasn't exact but he couldn't even point out what was wrong. Still, it definitely resembled a demon. "Some fairytale monster? Does it eat children, Raps? Should I be scared of it?"</p><p>"Yes," Rapunzel answered, not a hint of laughter in her voice. Cassandra's face sharpened and she looked at them gravely. "We call it a demon. There's more of its kind and they eat human children. Grace Field is their farm. None of our siblings was ever adopted. They were all killed and shipped to be eaten. And Mother works with them."</p><p>"Seriously?" Cassandra asked, baffled. She looked to Eugene stuck her thumb out towards Rapunzel. "She's joking, right?"</p><p>Eugene pursed his lips and shook his head. The girl's face fell as she glanced back down at the drawing. Though it was obviously hard to deliver the news and very easy to write them both as insane, Eugene was glad to see that she appeared to be breaking down on her dismissal. He felt a tad guilty as grief flared up in his sister's eyes but stayed by the thought that this was for the best.</p><p>"Neither of you would joke about stuff like this, no matter how big of a snake you may be." Cassandra pointed a meaningful look at Eugene and he just shrugged helplessly with a smirk. He couldn't refrain from it, even with the seriousness of the situation. Still, he quickly dropped it for a more suitable expression. "But still, this is... a lot. We're being raised as food? Don't blame me for being just a bit skeptical."</p><p>"Don't worry, we don't. If we haven't Faith yesterday, we probably wouldn't have believed either." Rapunzel reached out and clasped her hands around one of Cassandra's. She attempted to smile sadly but it turned into a sorrowful frown. Her eyes were empty and the shadows that danced on her face made her look like a ghost. Eugene put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it before turning to Cassandra.</p><p>"Now, you would probably want more details..."</p><p> </p><p>⬖╋⬗</p><p> </p><p>As they spoke and gave more information, Cassandra looked less and less doubtful and more and more perplexed. It was somewhat weird, being on the knowing side of the conversation but Rapunzel wouldn't complain. She was just happy that in the end, Cass said they'll find a way to escape. Then someone rang the bell so they had to finish. Eugene took her drawing and folded it to put in his pocket.</p><p>In the dining room, no one was setting up the tables. That was the first clue to something being different but she quickly saw that Mother was holding a baby girl with puffy, orange hair. She was in a pale-yellow pajama one-suit. That was normal for after one of the children going to the gate and Eugene didn't wait to inform them in a whisper that the baby was probably a replacement for Faith.</p><p>What wasn't normal, however, was the smiling woman standing next to Mother. She had auburn hair pulled back into a tight, wavy ponytail with a side-fringe partially covering the right side of her face. Like Varian, she had a strange streak in her bangs, except hers was red, more fitting with the rest of her locks. Like Mother, she wore a long-sleeved, black dress with an ankle-length skirt and a white apron. She was smiling softly, observing the children with a curious gaze.</p><p>That was unnerving, scary, even, to Rapunzel. It was another adult, another one working for the demons, she presumed. Another obstacle. Where did she even come from? Actually, where did the babies come from?</p><p>"Another adult," Cassandra whispered, her eyes widening. Rapunzel gave a single nod.</p><p>"Another enemy," Eugene added. She gave another bow of her head.</p><p>"Attention!" Mother called, effectively shushing all excited muttering. She gently shook the baby awake and she yawned, slowly opening her eyes to reveal dark green irises. That sent another wave of awed gushes through the children but it only took a look from the woman to silence them. "I want you to meet your newest little sister, Marigold."</p><p>Rapunzel couldn't help but make an 'aww' at the baby when she smiled sleepily and snuggled deeper into Mother's chest. She could remember when most of her siblings came to Grace Field and she always found them impossibly adorable. That just flared up her determination to escape.</p><p>"And this is Sister Caine," Mother introduced, tilting her head towards the other woman. She smiled wider. "She'll be helping me with my daily duties."</p><p>"I'll be living here with all of you from now on. It's nice to meet you all," Caine said in a friendly tone. A chorus of greetings erupted and even Cass seemed unable to resist joining though her small smile stayed guarded, careful.</p><p>Then they began preparing dinner. The trio was able to stick around each other to exchange a few words regarding the rope. Cassandra told them that their best bet would be getting table cloths and tying them together. Eugene almost literally jumped at the possibility of stealing them from the storage room. Rapunzel couldn't decide whether she should be glad or concerned at his eagerness.</p><p> </p><p>⬖╋⬗</p><p> </p><p>It was the next day's free time when they gathered under the wall, Eugene handing them the table cloths. He was beaming with pride as he presented them while Cassandra inspected the wall shortly. Then they all sat down and begun tying them together.</p><p>"We need to discuss the plan," Cass began, not looking up. Rapunzel smiled at her and put an encouraging hand on her lap. She shook it off. "We narrow down the number of children to those who can make it."</p><p>Rapunzel inhaled sharply, dropping the knot she was tying. She glared at her sister who seemed overly focused on her own work. Eugene didn't say anything.</p><p>"We need to take everyone!" she exclaimed, flabbergasted. Cassandra finally lifted her head to look at her, disappointed but not surprised. "We can't leave anyone behind!"</p><p>"Rapunzel, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. We can't make it with everyone. It's impossible, even if we escape. We still need to survive in a demon world," she hissed. Rapunzel blinked, her anger escaping her in a snap as she thought over her words.</p><p>"'Demon world'? What do you mean?" she asked and Eugene sighed. She turned to him and he looked at her sadly.</p><p>"I want to take everyone too but Cass is right. There's somewhere we get shipped to. Do you really believe there's a place for humans outside the farm? Besides, we still need to do something about the trackers. We don't even know where they are," he said softly. Rapunzel stopped a screech of despair. She had to keep her hopes up. They could make it, they had to! Faith would be the last of her siblings to be killed in such a way. Then she remembered the morning when she figured to check over Marigold when she changed her. Her face lit up.</p><p>"I do! They're in our ears but you can only see them on the babies." She caught the top of her left ear and bent it away from her head to show them the barely noticeable spot where the ear connected to the head. Both Cass and Eugene reached up to their own ears. Eugene smiled.</p><p>"Now that we know, we can break them or cut them out! That solves that and we can assume that the trackers don't alert Mother if we get close to the wall or gate so we don't have to worry about that." His face fell. "But there's still the problem of simply surviving. There's thirty-eight of us and the majority isn't even six."</p><p>Rapunzel gave them a determined smile and clenched her fists on the fabric in her hands.</p><p>"We can do it! I want to take everyone! Leaving any of our siblings isn't an option. And if there's no place for humans out there, we'll make our own!" Cassandra rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else as she returned to her task. Eugene laughed softly but smirked at her.</p><p>"You're planning to build a boat out of mud, as always. And yet, you're always able to bake that mud, to make it happen. So, I believe you. We'll take everyone."</p><p>"Take everyone where?" They all jumped to their feet, dropping the rope-in-making. Out of the bushes, Varian came out, as always carrying Ruddiger. He was pouting and he glared at them. "What's going on? Why did you go beyond the fence? And why—" he looked to the table cloths, forehead creasing in thought, "—are you making a rope?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The name suggestion Juniper came from Hayami_Hinata and her hair is supposed to resemble the actual juniper plant! And I still need more names so if you have ideas, leave them in the comments.<br/>Oh, and why Eugene is skeptical in the ending bit - I think he's more realistic about sacrifices (he does become the captain of the guard, doesn't he now) and while he does hope to escape with everyone, he does realize that may be impossible and he won't throw his besties into danger for the youngest children if he has a choice. He'll much rather endanger himself only.<br/>Anyways, until next time, bye~!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. III</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A bit of lying never hurt anybody, right? Sister Caine plays a game with a bunch of children who then proceed to play a new version of tag. Oh my, oh my, do you like drawing?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span> Varian was curious. He always was but usually, he was curious about how things worked or about a new reaction. Lately, though, he's been curious about his siblings. Not Juniper or Lance or Feldspar or even Marigold since she came. He's been curious about those he thought he knew everything about. Varian was curious about Cassandra, Eugene, and even </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rapunzel</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Punzie, who's told him all about her dreams and secrets, was hiding something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> So what was he supposed to do except taking the necessary steps to find out? He took the same actions he would during an experiment: he hypothesized (they're hiding something) and observed so that he could draw out a conclusion. There wasn't even a need to experiment. All he had to do was watch how they whispered, how they reacted to Sister and Marigold, how they disappeared and secluded themselves when possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They didn't even realize he was keeping an eye on them — they hadn't changed the way they hid in any way. He wasn't able to stay close enough to listen to them but he didn't need that to figure out they were planning something no one was supposed to know about. He was somewhat offended they hadn't clued him in or at least kept a better eye out for him. Really, Varian could've told Mother everything he saw because of their inexperienced attempts to conceal their intentions. Luckily for them, he wanted to know what this was all about before snitching out of pure pettiness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He was truly surprised no one else tried to follow them but he guessed they either didn't care or fell for their lies. But he was less deceivable than them and much more prying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian left his book in favor of following his siblings, though at a distance so he had to stop a few times to find their tracks. Imagine his surprise when they led him to the fence. He knew Rapunzel was adventurous but she's never disobeyed Mother's orders without a good reason, like bringing Knight to Faith before she left. Now that he thinks of it, where </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>Knight? He knew for a fact that Rapunzel slept in their room the whole night — he couldn't sleep until about an hour before breakfast, thinking of new formulas — but during the day, she didn't speak to Mother </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span>, let alone given her the stuffed mouse. The situation was becoming more and more shrouded in mystery, making him more and more determined to solve it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> After making sure no one was around, he climbed over the fence and continued tracking them. He saw the wall before he saw or heard the trio but that was enough for him to understand that what they were doing wasn't likely to be simple surprise planning. His suspicions were confirmed when he got close enough to hear Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra talking, arguing over something as they... tied table cloths together? Realization dawned on him when he came out of the bushes, questions on his lips, and got a better look. They were making a rope. What the hair? Why would they need a </span>
  <em>
    <span>rope </span>
  </em>
  <span>for? What would be so secretive that they needed to disobey Mother to make it? And why did Rapunzel look so terrified when he revealed himself?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You followed us? Seriously kid, does privacy not exist?" Eugene grumbled with an amused smirk but in his eyes, too, lingered fear. Cassandra seemed the least affected as her eyes just widened a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "It does but you can't expect me not to be curious when you're acting so weird," Varian said, frowning. He knelt down at the bundle of white cloths and rocked gently on his heels as he eyed it. "This isn't for a game, is it? You would make it at the house otherwise."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Only a glance at Rapunzel was needed as an answer. She's never been a great liar, especially when stressed. And oh, was she stressed at the moment. Hair tugging was the obvious hint with her but wasn't the only one. She could barely control her breathing and her pupils dilated in a sense of danger as she gaped at him, her mouth moving like he imagined a fish would. He forced down a chuckle, knowing this wasn't a good moment. Instead, he found Cassandra's eyes, figuring she was the most suitable to tell him what was happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Cassandra," she flinched at her full name — he barely ever used it, "what's going on?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She looked at the other two. Rapunzel just stared at him and Varian could almost see the thoughts running chaotically through her head. Alright then, she didn't want him to find out. Eugene gave more of an answer with a stiff nod though he seemed to have let out a small, relieved breath. Cassandra shrugged and turned back to Varian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "These two—" she pointed at the two siblings in question, "—went to the gate to give Faith Knight before she left. Instead, they found out that—" she stopped for a split second before continuing, "—our siblings have all been sold off to bad people and Mother is in on it. Now, we're planning how to escape."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian blinked, eyes jumping between the trio. Huh? No, that couldn't be. They were joking. Their siblings were living happily with their new families and Mother would never deprive any of them of that. Mother loved them as if they were her own children, not just kids in her care. She would never </span>
  <em>
    <span>sell </span>
  </em>
  <span>them, at least in the way they were implying. Sure, she probably took some fees from the foster parents but that would never be called </span>
  <em>
    <span>buying </span>
  </em>
  <span>a child. Cassandra's words didn't make sense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel's reaction left little room for him to deny. He could almost always see through her lies and acting and now? Now, there was only fear he could recognize. Fear of him finding out. And even </span>
  <em>
    <span>if </span>
  </em>
  <span>she miraculously gained acting abilities there was a small chance she predicted him coming and was able to fake startlement so well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene could be trickier. He was, while maybe not flawless, a good actor. Varian had to look harder when Eugene was actively trying to conceal something. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case. He could, in fact, point out the exact moment Eugene let go of at least most of his illusion. Now the older boy's smirk was gone, giving way to a nervous frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Then there was Cassie. Her, Varian could rarely read. She was the complete opposite of Rapunzel's open book of thoughts and this wasn't the first, or last, time he was frustrated by it. It threw him into a frenzy that he couldn't tell what was going on in her mind besides hesitance, unless that was a lie, too. He groaned and ran his hand down his face in defeat, once again giving up on reading her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You're lying. You have to!" Varian glared at them. He wasn't accepting what they were saying, even if all he could see was implying honesty. His fingers tightened on Ruddiger until his knuckles were white — good thing the plush toy wasn't alive. "Mother would never do something like that. You're just trying to make me not tell her that you're disobeying her!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He was blinking rapidly, attempting to brush away the stings of frustration from his eyes without the trio noticing. That didn't stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>from seeing Rapunzel wipe her face with her sleeve as Eugene whispered to her to calm her down. In the meantime, Cassandra stared at him sympathetically which just began coaxing him into believing her. Even she wasn't able to fake that look, he was sure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Finally, Varian sighed and shifted into a cross-legged sitting position, gently laying Ruddiger in his lap. He picked up two table cloths and reluctantly began tying them together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Though I guess you love her just as much as I do and you wouldn't make up such a horrible lie. This does also line up with what I've noticed since Faith left. You've been acting strange, especially Punzie. You need to step up your game if you want to fool Mother and escape." Varian didn't look up from his work but he could feel their eyes on him. He shrugged the feeling off in favor of focusing on the rope-to-be and the whole situation. "So, we're taking everyone, right?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> "I told you it was a good idea to tell him!" Eugene grinned at Rapunzel as they followed Cassandra and Varian. The younger boy was discussing details of their plan with the girl who commented on it ever so often. That left the other two free to lag behind, just out of ear range, and talk. Eugene took the opportunity to gloat about the fact that he was — obviously — right. "I </span>
  <em>
    <span>told </span>
  </em>
  <span>you! And what did </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>say? Huh?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I said he won't understand, that he's too young," Rapunzel murmured, her fingers interlaced with each other. She looked at Eugene and big, sad eyes drilled into him. He had to glance away from them so he opted for looking at her forehead. "And does he understand? Cass still lied to him. I— I think he hopes to save the others. I think it's cruel to keep him hopeful and he can be so unpredictable when emotional. We don't know what he'll do when we finally break it to him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene stopped and put his hands on Rapunzel's shoulders, turning her to look at him. He even urged himself to look her in the eyes. Her lower lip was trembling as she looked back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Sunshine, don't worry your hair about this. We'll find a way to tell him that </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn't </span>
  </em>
  <span>result with him losing his trust in us. I promise. Just, hold up a bit longer, 'kay? I think he'll turn his focus to Mother so it shouldn't be as hard to keep up the lying." Rapunzel nodded doubtfully and shook his hands off to join their two siblings. Eugene ran his hand through his hair and sighed before jogging after them. He sure hoped his words were true. An angry Varian wasn't a good Varian, and a hurt Varian was even worse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Varian was still processing everything as he spoke of how to strengthen their siblings. They were quick to agree to training through tag. It wouldn't be suspicious and they would exercise without even realizing what they were actually preparing for, something Rapunzel insisted on. Now that he knew everything, he could see why she wouldn't tell him but he was still on board with telling the majority. Might as well know the danger you're running from, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They would also need to make back-up rope, in case the one they left in a tree at the wall got found. After all, if there were trackers, Mother might know exactly where to look for it. He had to keep forcing himself from touching around his ear in search of the device. It was something he wanted to get a look at. An actual tracker, and one that's small enough to fit right behind the ear without anyone noticing. It also had to have quite the battery — one that lasted over ten years. He's never read of such a masterpiece.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They also had to take care of Mother and Caine. Of course, they had to assume Sister was plotting with their caretaker and was in on the secret. There was a very small chance that she wasn't, a mere zero point fifty-seven if he had to guess. He already figured out the easiest way to do that but decided to push the thought aside until it was absolutely necessary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Only when they were at the tree was he able to let go of the matter, surrounded by familiarity and siblings. Still, when he saw Sister Caine playing with Juniper, he couldn't help but tighten his fingers on Ruddiger. She was acting so friendly, so innocent. A great actor she was if she was indeed working with Mother honestly. Through that, he suspected she was also able to tell lies from truth well, too. That wasn't great for such a terrible liar that was Rapunzel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Hey, V!" He turned to Kiera and Catalina. Kiera wore her signature smirk while Catalina's smile was gentler — it was still sharp with mischief but alas, nicer than the other's. Varian glanced around to see he was left to deal with the two on his own, the three eldest siblings deciding to play with the younger ones. He groaned internally. A pair of troublemakers was </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>what he needed now, already nervous beyond the world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The sisters stood in front of him, both eyeing him suspiciously as he grinned at them, forcing himself to loosen up his hold on the plush toy and appear relaxed, maybe even playful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What's up, little monsters?" he asked snarkily. Catalina puffed out her cheeks, laying her hands on her hips. Kiera raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We can't just talk, V?" Varian chuckled into his fist, sending them an amused look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You? Just talk? With me? I could believe Catalina but you, Angry? No way." He smirked. Kiera shook her head and stuck out her tongue at him. "So, what do you want to 'talk' about?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Stupid know-it-all," the girl huffed. "I wanted to know where you went. Unless you're playing tag, you're </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>reading. And you </span>
  <em>
    <span>weren't </span>
  </em>
  <span>playing tag."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian urged himself against slapping himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>the two would notice and question that. How could he forget about their ongoing brawl that didn't seem to ever end? They were always looking for each other but he was too focused on finding Rapunzel to concentrate on the girls. The whole situation with the eldest siblings clouded his common sense. He couldn't believe he looked over such an important piece, even if originally his escapade was rather harmless and innocent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "First of all, if I'm a know-it-all, I can't be stupid." Varian decided to start safely, gaining a few extra seconds to pick himself up. Kiera just rolled her eyes. "Second, I was just hanging out with Punzie, Cassie, and Eugene. You know, put a day aside for the ones that will be leaving soon."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Kiera scrunched up her nose with dissatisfaction. Varian stared at her. She had to believe him. She wasn't one he wanted to be in opposing teams with, no matter their love-hate relationship. He could insult her and fight with her on a daily basis but he couldn't stand the thought of being truly against her — and, by extension, against Catalina as well. The redhead was often able to persuade Kiera to calm down but in the end, she was going to follow the latter until the end, no doubt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You've never done this before. Besides, it's still a good couple of months for even Cassandra to leave." Catalina was still quiet but he knew she was silently supporting their skeptical sister. He could tell by the suspicious glint in her eyes and simply because he knew her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Well, this is Punzie we're talking about. And why today? Because we wanted to talk about Sister Caine. She seems really nice, don't you think?" It was a simple excuse, one that should pass. After all, Rapunzel was involved in it. It wouldn't be particularly odd for her to want to talk about it with her closest siblings a bit more privately after such a change.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Kiera seemed to think a moment but Catalina almost sprang at him to answer, she satisfied herself with jumping in front of Kiera, eyes glistening with glee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yeah! She's great!" The girl blushed slightly and stepped back, falling back in line with Kiera. Varian grinned. Catalina was one of the quieter siblings but she had the potential to be as loud and energetic as Rapunzel when she got carried away — and that was saying something. "I, um... I mean, she's nice. Everyone likes her and she seems very caring. She also plays with us more than Mother. You know, she wanted to talk to you and the trio."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian rose his eyebrow. That was interesting but, if what Eugene said about their scores and ages was true, not very surprising. He said that the smartest and eldest children were the most valuable. Varian had the best scores. Rapunzel, Cassie, and Eugene were the eldest. Obviously, she would want to meet the valuable merchandise. For the Sun and the Moon, he did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to think of himself and his family as something to sell but he forced his disgust down, keeping a smile on, albeit now softer, smaller.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "She did?" he asked. The girls confirmed with quick nods, Kiera jabbing a finger into his chest with an annoyed pout.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "But </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>weren't anywhere around here. I was sure you would be one of the first to ask questions," she said. Varian rubbed the back of his neck. He got quite careless when faced with the option of Rapunzel hiding something from him, hasn't he?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> When Caine and Marigold arrived, he paid them no mind besides the 'aw' he gave the baby along with everyone else. He certainly hadn't almost screeched from the adorableness. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn't </span>
  </em>
  <span>thinking of smooshing her chubby face whenever he saw her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> What Kiera said was true. He would've expected himself to ask Caine questions as soon as he got the chance, everything else be damned. Well, everything but Rapunzel having secrets. The girls had every right to be confused and Varian didn't blame them. He was just frustrated that they noticed it when it was so inconvenient for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," he sighed and patted Kiera's head. She growled and snapped in an attempt to bite his fingers off. Luckily, he anticipated that and was able to retract his hand fast enough with a grin. "I just had to organize all of my questions—"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian froze when he felt an unfamiliar presence behind him. Both girls smiled, Catalina putting her fists to her cheeks in glee. He turned to look at Caine who leaned down over him with a friendly expression. Still, her look sent chilling shivers down his spine though he couldn't see anything threatening in her face. He briefly wondered if he would've had the same reaction if he wasn't told the house's secret. Probably not. Or maybe he would? He could feel her dark brown eyes drilling into him, past his clothes and body and into his soul. Varian hoped she couldn't see any lies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You must be Varian," she said. The boy nodded, forcing a cheery grin. He even went as far as to give his buck-toothed smile he would've never thought he would give a complete stranger. "I've heard that you get nearly perfect scores."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yup!" he confirmed and, in the corner of his eye, he could see Kiera rolling her eyes and forcefully pulling Catalina away. Great. Never has he ever felt so alone while surrounded by his family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "That's amazing," she gushed, clasping her hands around one of his, the one that wasn't occupied by Ruddiger. He allowed her to shake it but pulled back as soon as she stopped — she didn't look like she was going to willingly let go. Her left eyelid twitched but she didn't waver. "I'm sure we'll get along wonderfully!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yes. Of course," Varian said. He thought for a moment before, speaking again. "May I ask you a question?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Of course!" she answered cheerily. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Too </span>
  </em>
  <span>cheerily, in his opinion. "What is it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "How is it outside?" He watched her intently, hoping his face didn't give in and his smile didn't droop. Hers did ever-so-slightly, he observed curiously, before it went back up. "Is it like in the books?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yes but without all the magic and supernatural creatures." Varian couldn't help letting out an annoyed breath. Did she think he was that gullible?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Well, that's obvious. Magic doesn't exist. It's just science that hasn't been explained yet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Caine blinked, confusion making its place on her face. For the Sun...! She </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>think he was that naive! He couldn't believe it. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>herself </span>
  </em>
  <span>mentioned his test scores. Did she truly think his book-smarts were </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>much ahead of his maturity that he could list off every flammable chemical but believe in demons and whatnot? Sure, he could appreciate a fantasy story but that's all it was. A story made up to entertain people.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Well, that's right. As Gothel said, you truly may be beyond your years." Caine smiled and ruffled his hair. It was sudden enough that Varian couldn't stop flinching away, to her somewhat clear dismay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He shot her a fake, apologetic look, mumbled a farewell, and skittered away, his feet leading him straight to Rapunzel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel had been watching Varian's whole encounter with Caine and only Cassandra's hand clutched tightly on her shoulder stopped her from running over to snatch him away. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, especially when she touched him. She didn't blame him for his swift escape when he got the chance though she couldn't ignore the suspicious look Caine gave them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cassandra let go of her, allowing Rapunzel to lurch forward and trap Varian in a bearhug. His breathing was heavier than normal, more jagged. It made her heart flutter with worry. This was exactly why she didn't want to tell him about anything. If he didn't know even the softened truth, he would've had no problem speaking with Caine. Though, actually, that could've resulted badly if he got close to her. He would be even more heartbroken in the aftermath. Mother was enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian pulled away after a moment, smiling brightly. Rapunzel was stunned. She might've just been bad at detecting lies but his grin seemed genuine. If that was the case then how could he smile at that moment?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "There's still time for one game of tag. I think we should use that time," he said, turning to those of their siblings that were listening in. There was a choir of agreement and they immediately attempted to set Varian up as 'it'. Then, a voice interfered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You're going to play tag? That sounds fun," Caine said and twirled on her toes, her skirts puffing up for a moment from the motion. She leaned down towards the hoard of children. "Could I play too?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel's first instinct was to scream "No!". She didn't but it took her clasping her hand over her mouth for that result. Her siblings, the oblivious ones, all cheered for her to be 'it' in place of Varian. They liked her, that much was clear. She couldn't refuse to join the game after she was excited to play when Varian offered so she swallowed down her uneasiness and prepared to run.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Eugene could hear his siblings getting caught one by one, their laughter and screams sounding throughout the forest. He cursed the fact that they weren't able to put Varian's training plan in motion before this. Maybe then they wouldn't be getting caught so easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He was sneaking all around the forest, encountering others ever-so-often. From some bushes, he got to see Rapunzel running whilst carrying Juniper and Brock on each arm, Caine hot on her tail. He stopped himself from jumping out and trying to help — it would only get all of them caught, he suspected, and this wasn't a dangerous chase yet. The sister likely couldn't harm them as their extra caretaker. Still, he grimaced when he heard Rapunzel shriek</span>
</p><p>
  <span> In the last five minutes out of twenty, he united with Varian and Cassandra, likely the only ones left that weren't caught. Varian was able to point out every possible trick Caine could have set, all while being piggybacked by a running Eugene. He was also the first one to notice Sister running after them and he alerted them with a very dignified shriek as he slipped off Eugene's back to run his own way, as they planned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cassandra and Eugene also parted ways but the younger boy already made them aware of the fact that she would most likely go after him, the physically weakest. He didn't share how he would escape her. Eugene was beating himself over it because he saw how fast and strong Caine was, especially in comparison to the feeble boy. And yet, when he returned to the tree victorious after Cassandra announcing that the time was up, Varian was also cheered on as a winner. Probably outwitted her, the little genius.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> When they were preparing dinner, Varian found a moment to gather them all and talk to them. What he said was surprising.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Hey, so, I've been thinking... We should tell Lance." Rapunzel opened her mouth to protest but the youngest raised his hand, signaling that he wasn't done. "Really, if we're going to do the team tag thing, we should probably get another team leader that will take this seriously. Well, as seriously as Lance could take it, at least. You know that he would be helpful and reliable enough that this would be worth it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene knew Lance well, they stuck together like glue most of the time, kind of like Catalina and Kiera or Stan and Pete. It was like they were super-siblings, on another level of family bonds than with the others. That's why he knew Varian was being reasonable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Lance might've been a goof but if there was one thing he took seriously, it was his brothers and sisters and their safety. He took care of the younger ones as if </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>was their mom and not Mother Gothel. He always knew just what to do to make them feel better, whether they were hurt physically or emotionally. If he knew about the situation, even the version that Varian knew, he would almost anything to help them, no doubt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> On the other hand, though, he could end up going overboard. He could mess everything up by trying to help too much. There was a very real possibility that he would blab out to their other siblings. Knowing him, they wouldn't believe him and that would lessen their credibility later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We'll think about it," Rapunzel finally said softly, taking Varian's hands. "But for now, let's focus on training and preparing without him knowing, alright?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian held her gaze but nodded after a moment, relenting. She let go of him and the four separated to continue with their chores. Eugene couldn't stop thinking of all the scenarios that could happen if they told Lance, whether good or bad. They would need more time to decide and luckily, Varian seemed ready to give them that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel had finished a new drawing. It was soothing for her to create and she needed to get her mind wandering, even if just for a bit. She drew a chameleon tangled in strands of flowers. Eugene laughed for a bit before admitting it was very nice. They decided to go hang it up in the hall where all their pictures went. She whimpered at the empty spot on the wall where Faith's drawing hanged before. Mother took it off the same evening she was shipped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The girl stuck on her own drawing with Eugene's help and just stared at the colors, still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Hey, Flynn! We need help with the clock!" Lance's head peaked out from one of the rooms, his tone holding a tint of mocking. Eugene looked at her apologetically, squeezed her shoulder, and started to the door with a huge grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What do you need the great Flynnigan Ryder for?" he exclaimed, disappearing in the room. Rapunzel smiled faintly before turning back to the drawings, to the empty spot among them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Tears stung her eyes as she pressed her palm to the wall where Fait's picture should've been. It was depressing to think that she would never see her again, that she was... She choked back a sob, worried somebody could hear her if she let it out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She snapped to attention when she heard quiet footsteps and she blinked away her tears before turning. Her lip trembled upon recognizing Mother, smiling softly. She came up to her and cupped her face. Rapunzel felt her stroke her neck with her thumb. She was checking her pulse. The girl hoped she was able to slow down her heart before Mother noticed its pounding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What's wrong, Flower? You look a little pale," Mother asked, a chilling note to her voice. "I noticed you haven't been your usual cheery self since yesterday. Did something happen?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel stared for a moment, collecting her thoughts. Then, she smiled and took her hand off the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I just got a little sad thinking that I'll have to leave here in a few months." Lies. Lies, lies, lies. Rapunzel wanted to scream. She wasn't sad about leaving the 'orphanage'. If anything, she was terrified of her siblings and herself leaving the way Faith did while being hopeful of leaving on her own terms. She didn't want to stay at Grace Field if it was just a farm, even if she grew up happily. It was fake, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>fake, especially Mother's love.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Mother looked thoughtful for a couple seconds and let go of Rapunzel's face. She pushed a strand of brown hair from the girl's face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Do you like living here, Flower?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Of course!" Rapunzel lurched forward and threw her hands around Mother's neck. It was all part of the act but she couldn't help but melt into Mother's hug when her hands looped around her. Even if it was just a mere two days since their last hug, Rapunzel was starving for Mother's touch which she herself began avoiding. Mother was an enemy, of course, but she was also the one who raised all of them. It was hard not being affectionate with her but it was hard to act like before as well. It was just one, big mess. "I love living here </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> you!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> As Mother rubbed circles on her back a thought struck Rapunzel. It was risky but...</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I wonder how Faith is doing..." She let an eerie silence envelop them for a bit before pulling away with a small smile. "She said she wanted to be a loving mother, just like you!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yes, I remember," Mother said, leaving no hints as to what she was truly feeling. She looked as peaceful and kind as ever. When Rapunzel was hugging her, she also stayed calm, not giving in. "I'm sure she'll grow into a wonderful young woman."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> 'Liar!' Rapunzel wanted to scream. 'She won't grow because of you! Because you let her be killed and become food!' She didn't but oh, how she wanted to. How she wanted to yell her hurt out at her, how she wanted to make her aware of how she felt... and how she still loved her, and how she hated that she did. Because it wasn't fair, because Mother was going to let her die so why should she have any sliver of emotion towards her aside from hate, because she was still </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mother </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>how could she</span>
  </em>
  <span> and... and...</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Someone rang the bell for bedtime. Eugene ran up and caught Rapunzel's forearm, shooting Mother a smile before dragging his sister away. They were halfway to Rapunzel's room when they stopped dead in their tracks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Did you two go to the gate two days ago?" They stood still. Rapunzel was terrified and she realized she wouldn't be able to hide it. There was no way. If she turned around now, Mother would know they did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene looked over his shoulder with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "To the gate? But that's against the rules!" he said and Rapunzel nodded. "Why do you ask?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "As long as you didn't go... It's nothing." Mother turned and walked away towards her own room. Eugene leaned on the wall, panting, as Rapunzel slumped to the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> That... That was too close for comfort. Much too close. She looked to Eugene, eyes still wide with fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Let's not tell Cass and Varian about this," she whispered. Eugene shook his head and lifted a hand as he regained his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We have to tell them. Hairstripe might figure out something we can't," he said, pushing himself away from the wall and reaching out his arm to help Rapunzel get up. She stared at his trembling arm for a few seconds before taking it and getting up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Alright. I'll talk to him. You should go to your room."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene nodded and, after making sure they could both walk normally, went to the bedroom he shared with a part of their siblings. Rapunzel inhaled deeply before entering her own. She glanced at Cassandra who was helping Juniper change. Smiling softly, Rapunzel turned to Varian's bed. The boy was already under the covers, laying with his back to her and reading. She walked over and shook him gently by the shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What's wrong?" he asked, looking up from his book. She sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to him. Understanding flashed in his eyes and he whispered: "Is it about Mother?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "She's suspecting me and Eugene of going to the gate when Faith was being taken away," she whispered back and he stifled a gasp with his hand. "Eugene said to tell you because you might understand something we don't."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian stared for a moment and Rapunzel could almost see the gears turning in his head. He blew his bangs out of his face and scratched his chin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "She asked you if you went?" Rapunzel nodded. "That means she doesn't get notified if we get close to the gate or wall or, even if she does, then it doesn't tell her who. With how you were at the wall when I found you, you're guessing it doesn't notify her and you're probably right. I think she has to check whether and who goes because the tracker doesn't tell her. That means the trackers aren't very complex, only long-lasting."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel hummed in understanding. That made sense. Eugene was right but it was surprising how quickly Varian deciphered so much information, even with his smarts. She shrugged it off as being amazed by his mind, as usual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Alright, thanks. I'll tell Cass. And get some sleep this night." Varian was about to protest but she pointed to the discolored bags under his eyes. He's used enough to losing sleep over the years that they weren't very big but they were there. "No arguing. Goodnight, sleep well. If you don't, I'll take the book."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The boy opened his mouth as if to bicker but closed it after a second thought. He grunted something and turned back to his book with a pout. Rapunzel chuckled and got up. She went over to Cassandra who was just saying goodnight to a couple of their siblings. When she saw Rapunzel she tilted her head a bit to the side. The younger girl took a breath, preparing herself to explain another situation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>⬖╋⬗</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel was very glad to see everyone's enthusiasm at the possibility of a new type of tag. Of course, Lance volunteered to be one of the leaders and the others agreed to it. Cassandra, Eugene, and she were elected as the rest of the leads with Varian as the tagger. Cass and Varian were constantly dropping clues on what their siblings should do, what to look for to not get caught. In the meantime, Eugene and Rapunzel pushed them to develop stamina, speed, and strength. Lance did too, though unintentionally and more because he wanted to win with his groups.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They also noticed — well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>, mainly Varian and Cassandra noticed — that Mother wasn't keeping that close of a watch on them anymore, as with Caine. That led to the trio meeting up on the evening of October twenty-seventh, fifteen days after Faith's shipment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They were in the library, most of the other kids already in their rooms. That included Varian. They haven't told him about this, from Cassandra's initiative. Eugene was defensive on having to notify him but in the end, the girl won the argument.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Sister hasn't done anything since that game of tag," Cassandra started. That was true. Besides chatting a bit with some of the kids, including Lance and Varian, she hadn't made any moves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Probably Mother's order," Eugene said with a shrug. Cassandra shot him an annoyed glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Mother used to suspect us but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore," she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I wonder why," Rapunzel hummed, scratching her chin. It was weird, ever since that day when she was caught by the drawings neither Mother nor Caine have done anything even remotely that could be considered seeking information. They were just taking care of them, as it should be like in an orphanage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What do you think, Cass?" Eugene asked, looking up at her. He was leaning on the back of a chair, chewing the insides of his cheeks, it appeared. Cassandra stared at the ground for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I think Mother did something so that she didn't have to do any dirty work." Rapunzel blinked, confused. She turned to Eugene for an explanation but he just furrowed his brows in worry. Did he catch on to something she didn't?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What do you mean?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Think like Mother, Sunshine. What's the easiest situation for her?" Rapunzel rubbed the back of her neck, swaying back and forth on her feet. She had it in the back of her mind, on the tip of her tongue but she just couldn't reach it. She shook her head, not being able to answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Knowing her target's every move without ever having to do anything herself," Cassandra explained with a half-amused, half-annoyed smile. Rapunzel made an 'oooh' sound and combed her fingers through her hair nervously. She didn't like what they were implying, not one little bit. Eugene said there were no cameras, no listening devices. He checked with Varian. That only left one option in her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You're saying that there's a—" she gulped. No, it couldn't be, all of her siblings loved each other, none of them would be a... "—spy?"</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter took me a while but in the end, I'm quite proud of it! I hope you've enjoyed it as well.<br/>Children names are still welcomed so if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments!<br/>Until next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. IV</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Secrets come out. Flynn Ryder sets a trap for a little fox... Or maybe it should be "raccoon"?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span> "Hairstripe!" Varian perked up to see Eugene coming up, followed by Cassandra. He scrunched up his nose at the lack of Rapunzel before noticing her braiding some of their sisters' hair by the house's wall. So, he turned to Eugene, closing his tome of 'Tales of Flynnigan Ryder'.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "What is it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "We'll tell Lance." Varian's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. Even though it was him who proposed the idea two weeks prior, he didn't think it would be taken upon after that long. He thought they decided against it but now, they stood in front of him, face guarded as they came back to it. Varian grinned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "So, you've had enough time to realize my genius, huh?" The two rolled their eyes in synch, causing him to laugh. He got up, brushed the dirt from his pants, and turned to them. "When are we telling him?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "As soon as Raps is done with the girls," Cassandra said, pointing to the ones in question. Varian nodded and pushed the book into Eugene's chest, forcing him to take it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I'll go help her," he said eagerly and before anyone could protest, ran up to the group. His siblings greeted him with smiles and he returned each of them. They gladly accepted help with their hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> This wasn't the first time he's made his sisters' hair. He's done it plenty of times on those who's hair was long enough. Juniper was a regular with anyone who could make nice braids, like Varian and Rapunzel. She sometimes allowed Eugene to practice on her but immediately after she would get it redone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian sat cross-legged behind Vex, dark strands in his hands. He weaved her hair with a smile, thankful for a known feeling that was in no way connected to the secret of the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Vex was quiet as usual when not barking out snarky comments. She seemed to be enjoying his fingers combing through her hair and the chitter-chatter of the other girls and though Varian couldn't see her, he could tell she brandished a soft smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> The boy tied off one braid with a red ribbon, making a small bow, and moved onto the other half of Vex's hair. As he wanted to finish quickly, in a weird way excited to tell Lance what he knew, he didn't do anything fancy as he sometimes did. Instead, he settled on the eight-year-old girl's usual two braids. She didn't seem to mind as she didn't say anything, only tried to turn her head to look at him. That is, before he hit her on the back of her neck and barked: 'Don't move your head!'. Vex listened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Hey, Varian?" He glanced to Rapunzel who was sitting next to him, forming Catalina's hair into one, thick, red braid. She even weaved in small, blue flowers. With anyone else, Varian would be frustrated that she was taking her time when they were supposed to go quickly but Rapunzel wasn't someone that was slowed down at all by adding bits and bobbles into hair. "Did Cass and Eugene tell you already?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Yeah," he said, tying a second bow in Vex's hair. Varian smiled. "Done!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> She picked the braids and swept them over her shoulders to have them hanging over her chest. The girl turned to him with a grin a threw her hands around his neck in a tight hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Thanks!" She quickly pushed away and got up, gathering the other girls into a small group. Catalina joined as well, Rapunzel done with her. Her braid had many flowers weaved in it, the light blue contrasting the ginger. Vex gave Varian and Rapunzel a look over her shoulder, pointing to the other kids at the tree that were regrouping for tag. "Think I can lead today?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Yeah, of course! After all, we won't be playing now. We wanted to talk a little," Rapunzel explained with a smile. Vex smiled back and, picking up one of the youngest girls, trotted away, followed closely by her small braid club.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian turned to Rapunzel, getting up and brushing off dirt and a couple strands of black hair from his pants. He wondered how much of a say she got in the matter regarding Lance. After all, she's been the most against telling anybody, even him. He wasn't even sure when they had the time to make the decision because he sure wasn't notified of anything. Varian didn't want to think what that implied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He offered his hand to Rapunzel and she took it with a smile. The boy pulled her to her feet, letting go right after. He turned to look for Cassie, Eugene, and Lance only to find them already standing behind him. He let out a startled shriek, muffling it by putting a hand to his mouth. Eugene chuckled but quickly shut up after receiving a death glare from Varian.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "So, what is it you wanted to talk about that you couldn't wait until later?" Lance asked, curiosity evident in his voice and eyes. Varian stared at him for a moment with an ironic smile. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>waited 'until later'. He waited for two whole weeks. That may not seem like much but to a nine-year-old wanting to progress it felt like an eternity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Let's go somewhere more private, m'kay?" Eugene caught Lance's shoulders from behind and steered him further away from the other children, to the side of the house. The others followed, Rapunzel looking almost as nervous as when Varian walked in on them making the rope. Cassandra stayed stoic as always, her forehead just a tad creased with worry. And Varian? Varian was itching to just </span>
  <em>
    <span>say it</span>
  </em>
  <span> already, to get it over with and begin forming a greater plan. Just as Mother and Sister had done nothing, the siblings had also accomplished close to naught.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> They gathered around a low, stone well that's top was covered by wooden planks. It was placed between two trees that cast a cool shade on the waterhole and Varian was convinced the structure was long dry, if it even ever had anything in it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Lance leaned back on the edge of the well, straight arms supporting his body as his fingers gripped the stone. He was glancing between his four siblings curiously and Varian was simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>dying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to let it out already. For so long, he could only talk to the three eldest and they didn't include him in all of their talks. As soon as Lance believed them, however, he would have another person to speak about it with and he damn well knew they would speak as equals. But he waited. He waited as his siblings gathered their words and their courage to tell the joyful boy the truth. Varian would get his turn to explain, he was positive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Mother's a liar. We're merchandise and she sells us to bad people. Y'know, human trafficking," Eugene finally blurted, the last expression being suggested by Varian on countless occasions when they involved him in their chats, and took a sharp breath, putting his hands together in a praying-like way and placing their touching thumbs over the middle of his lips, under his nose. He looked straight at Lance, slightly puffing out his cheeks in anticipation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian tapped his foot impatiently, clasping his hands over his lower back. He wasn't paying attention to his sisters who were both in different states of worry. His focus was pointed at Lance who stared numbly at them. He had to believe them. There was no option of letting him go without him trusting them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Then, the boy reacted. His lips widened in an uncertain smile and he gave a chuckle, a bead of sweat forming over his left eyebrow. His irises shook a bit, quickly, as he tried to keep eye contact with at least one of the others. It was... unnerving, to say the least, watching Lance in that unsure state when he was always the first one to believe stupid pranks their siblings played on him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Alright, you got me. Where's the punchline? Is this some kind of joke? It's a cruel one, ya' know? Mother loves us very much and that's how you talk about her?" Lance did his best to keep his voice from quivering and Varian had to give him some credit. If he wasn't so concentrated on figuring out every feeling the other could have, he wouldn't have noticed that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "It isn't a joke, Lance," Eugene said gravely, dropping his hands to his sides. He took a step forward and winced when his brother flinched back a little. Varian looked at the older sympathetically. This wasn't an expected response from your best friend and brother when you got close. "Buddy, would I lie to you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Yes!" Lance squawked back, glaring at him before glancing at the girls. Rapunzel had clumps of her hair in her hands, pulling at it harshly every other second. Varian grimaced. She would have quite some hair between her fingers, no doubt about it. Cassandra, as always, had a rather measured response of tugging gently at the cuffs of her sleeves. Lance pointed at them accusingly. "They would, too!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian tsked and shuffled forward to stand right in front of Lance, concealing a frown at his eyelid twitching. This was his moment, the moment he could finally let it all out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Lance, would we though? You know very well how much Rapunzel loves Mother, probably more than all of us combined. She would never in a million years say something like that about her if it wasn't true." Varian noticed, in the corner of his eye, that the girl in question grimaced. He raised his eyebrow, wondering briefly what that could mean though he quickly waved it off. It had to be nothing worth his time because she would tell him about anything concerning the situation at hand if it was enough to give her that reaction. She was likely worried about Lance thinking she lied, no big deal. He turned his attention back to the ten-year-old.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Lance's expression wavered and he slumped his shoulders, his gaze emptying. His lower lip trembled as he sat on the well, hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt in his lap. He was beginning to let go of his denial and Varian observed every moment of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "But... why would Mother do that?" Lance asked finally, his voice quiet and hollow. Rapunzel looked like she was about to cry, tears already welled up in her eyes. Eugene didn't look much better, running his hands through his hair frantically, disheveling it. Cassandra drilled her gaze into Lance, arms crossed on her chest. Varian just sat, glancing at everybody curiously, wondering who would speak up. Turned out it would be Cassie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "We don't know but it doesn't matter too much." Her expression softened at Lance's hardly contained sniffle. "What matters is that we're going to escape and live freely."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "And we'll save the rest, right? Those who already got sold?" Eugene made a look and Rapunzel hid her face in her hands. Cassandra shifted her weight from one leg to the other. Varian furrowed his brows but smiled at Lance, amused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Do you really think </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rapunzel </span>
  </em>
  <span>won't risk everything besides her other siblings to do that?" he laughed out quietly, getting a weak chuckle from the ten-year-old.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "How did you find out?" the boy asked after a moment, looking to the older trio.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Sunshine and I went to the gate because Faith left Knight in the dining room. We saw her being taken away and then told Cass." Eugene pointed a mocking glare to Varian. "Varian just stalked us beyond the fence. Also, yeah, beyond the gate is safe but there's a huge wall surrounding the forest. I have a back-up rope hidden in the house to escape over the wall in case Mother finds the one in the forest."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Ah, so he's taken up on Varian's request of having two ropes. That was good though it struck the boy how Eugene didn't elaborate on where that rope is. It was probably in case someone overhears them but still.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian turned to Lance and leaned closer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "It's a lot to process, huh?" He nodded and Varian gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Then get ready for even more because that isn't all."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> After filling Lance in on everything Varian knew, the group dispersed. The two younger boys stuck together, Varian comforting Lance and answering his questions to the best of his abilities. Rapunzel was quickly called over by their other siblings and she didn't keep them waiting for her. That left Eugene and Cassandra together and the boy wasn't about to let his sister go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Cass." She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "I have a... plan to see if either Varian or Lance is the spy. I actually have two ropes hidden in the house. I'll tell Lance it's under my bed and I'll tell Varian it's in the ceiling of the downstairs bathroom. If one of them is gone by tomorrow, we'll know who the spy is."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Cassandra hummed in acknowledgment before speaking: "What if they're gone but neither is the spy?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I prepared for that as well," Eugene said with a smirk. Cassandra wanted him to elaborate but he explained nothing. He was certain of his plan working. After all, it came from Flynnigan Ryder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> It was night. The clock was ticking away seconds that Rapunzel spent laying in her bed, unable to sleep. She tried but something urged her to stay awake, not allowing her to drift off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> It was a weird feeling, she had to admit. She was never the one to have problems with falling asleep. That has always been Varian's department. Even the night she saw Faith in that damned truck — she had nightmares then, sure, but she still slept as normal, albeit it wasn't a very restful sleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> And yet, this night, the night after they fed Lance lies with a bit of truth, she couldn't fall asleep, no matter how much her body begged her and how heavy her eyelids were, and how warm her bed was. It was frustrating, to say the least. That is, until she heard shuffling in some sheets and barefooted steps heading for the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Suddenly, she was wide awake. Whoever was sneaking around left the room with near-silent creaks of the door moving. Rapunzel carefully propped herself on her elbows and, squinting in the darkness, searched for who was missing. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it was Varian's bed that stood empty, his slippers beside it. He didn't go for water or anything equally innocent — he would've worn the slippers otherwise. He intended to be as silent as possible and, with bile rising in her throat, Rapunzel had a feeling it wasn't simply to not wake anybody up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> She shifted to sit on the edge of her bed and slipped on her own slippers, not wanting to move barefooted on the cool floor. The silence was only disturbed by the breathing of her sleeping siblings, her soft steps, and the movement of the door as she left the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Rapunzel looked around and saw Varian disappearing in Caine's bedroom. She snuck over to the door and, holding her breath and sliver of hope that this was an innocent visit, put her ear against it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "We can talk now, can't we?" Caine said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "You mean... about the issue?" Rapunzel choked back a scream. No. No, no, no. This </span>
  <em>
    <span>could not</span>
  </em>
  <span> be real. Whatever this 'issue' was had nothing to do with their escape or the demons. Right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> There was a silence which Rapunzel damned for the Sun and the Moon to just end. She wanted Varian to continue speaking, to disperse her uncertainty. To prove he's still on their side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> After they talked about the possibility of a spy, Eugene spoke with her alone and asked her if she would still take the spy with them. She answered yes. Eugene was surprised but she explained that, if they escaped without the spy, that sibling would die. Whoever they were, they were her family and she vowed not to let anyone else die — she wanted Faith to be the last one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> As she listened for Varian's answer, her decision didn't change. If he turned out to be the spy, she would still take him. That didn't mean she wouldn't care if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mother's agent. He would need to gain her trust and favor after such an act.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "But there is no issue." Rapunzel had to press a fist to her mouth to not let out a gasp. "I appreciate you checking in on me so much but there is nothing to worry about."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Are you sure?" She heard one of them clap — if she had to guess, she would say it was Caine. "I just can't help but be concerned."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I feel better, I promise. So please, stop worrying about me. Goodnight." At this point, Rapunzel couldn't stop a wide grin spreading across her face. She heard Varian's barefooted steps before they froze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I see. Rapunzel told you everything, didn't she?" The girl suppressed a scream and her smile turned into a worried frown. A cold shiver ran down her spine. There were a few quick steps — shoed on wood — and Caine hummed. "Am I right, Varian?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Rapunzel dug her fingers against the door, holding in her breath. She couldn't see Varian or Caine but she couldn't begin to imagine what he might've been going through being one-on-one with her. While she wasn't worried about any injuries, she still wanted to throw the door open and get her brother out of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Then she heard Caine move again. The woman giggled and Rapunzel could almost see Varian flinching through the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Too bad, I was hoping we could be good friends!" Sister said cheerily. When she spoke again, however, her tone became cold and sharp, like an icicle. "Now tell me, how many of the others know? There's Eugene. And Cassandra. Anyone else?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> There was a pause and Rapunzel could hear Varian's hitched breathing. He was a great actor so she didn't want to think about what he was experiencing to cause a rift in his illusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I'll let you off the hook so let's cooperate." Rapunzel wanted to scream, like many times in the past two weeks. She wanted to take Varian away from the woman, away from any danger, far away from the Sister's bedroom. She had to remind herself that she couldn't. Instead, she bit down on her lip, somewhat recreating the wound that healed only recently. She didn't end out tasting much blood which she took as a sign that it wasn't as deep as before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Her eyes widened when she heard Caine stumble — had Varian pushed her?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Please stop this!" There was some heavy breathing from the boy until he spoke again: "What are you even talking about?! I just had a little fight with Eugene but we made up so everything's fine now!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> After a moment of silence, Caine let out a light chuckle. It lacked the cold edge her voice had when she spoke. Now it seemed rather innocent, a laugh of someone genuinely amused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Well, it appears that I misunderstood. Sorry." Rapunzel could hear Caine's steps and then some whispering she couldn't catch. She hoped it was harmless but at this point, she knew better to simply hope. Alas, the conversation was done, she decided.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> The girl carefully got up and hurried back to her room. There, she waited, sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring impatiently at the door. Finally, it opened and Varian stepped through it, quietly closing it behind himself. When he turned and their eyes met, he stifled a gasp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Rapunzel," he whispered, surprised with a tint of guilt. She just smiled and motioned for him to come sit next to her. He did, tears slowly welling up in his eyes. Rapunzel hugged him tightly, wanting to pour everything she felt into the embrace: joy, relief, sadness, worry. Hope.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> The dam appeared to break down for the boy. He dug his fingers into her pajama's shirt, holding on like she was a lifeline. He pressed his face against her chest, wetting the material with tears and sobbing. He shivered like a leaf on a windy day and he tried regulating his quick, short breaths. Rapunzel could feel his heart drumming in his chest as she sought to soothe him by combing his hair and running her fingers down his back. This was a long night.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> "So, Rapunzel already told us Varian isn't likely to be the spy," Eugene said to Cassandra as they hurried up the stairs. They had decided that in the short moment between the daily tests and laundry, they would go and check on the ropes — Mother would've had plenty of time to confiscate them if she knew where they were. Eugene had chosen the spot under his bed to be checked first.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> When they were in the bedroom, he got on his stomach and pressed his cheek against the floor, searching under the mattress. Cassandra stood behind him, hands on her hips and foot tapping impatiently. After a moment, he got up and brushed off dust from his clothes. He shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Then it's confirmed it's Lance," Cassandra stated and turned, ready to leave. Eugene smirked instead and caught her arm to stop her. She furrowed his brows as he clutched her forearm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Actually, it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>who's the traitor, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cassie</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another chapter in! Hope you liked it, even if it's a bit shorter than the previous ones. The name thing is still on.</p>
<p>Until next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. V</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The spy's out of the box and the genius gets his hands on materials</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span> "Actually, it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>who's the traitor, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cassie</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cassandra stared at Eugene, eyes wide with disbelief. The boy just smiled smugly, sure of his accusation. They stood for a moment, eyeing each other down. Then, Cassandra smiled and crossed her arms, getting him to let go of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Are you serious? Cut it out." Eugene leaned forward, smile shrinking into a much sadder version.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You've realized already, haven't you?" He paused. "I've set a trap for three people." Another pause and he gestured to his bed. "I told Lance it's under my bed," he motioned to the door, "and I told Varian it's in the downstair's bathroom's ceiling. At least, that's what I told you. I actually told Lance the dining hall and I told Varian the library."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cassandra grunted quietly, bowing her head slightly. Her smile left no trace on her face. Eugene glanced at his bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "The rope under the bed is gone so what about the other two spots?" He raised his eyebrows. "Should we go over and check them now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The clock ticked away. They didn't have much time before someone came looking for them. That didn't seem to bother Cassandra very much as she cracked a smirk and plopped herself on his bed with a dark laugh. Eugene didn't move, only shifted his feet to be standing towards her. His lip trembled and he put his hands in his pockets to hide their shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "And here I thought I was doing so well," Cassandra said lightly, wiping a tear from her eye with her thumb. Suddenly, she cut off her laugh like with a knife and she stared at him, eyes squinted dangerously. Eugene bit the insides of his cheeks. He didn't like the way she looked. Even throughout all the years they've lived together and fought, he's never considered her an actual threat but now? Now, he wanted to run, scared to be alone with her in a room. "You're right. I'm the one who's been spying for Mother. So, what gave it away? And where did you find this plan because I know for a fact you haven't thought of it on your own."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene tugged at his collar nervously, urging his hand to remain steady. It was a hard task but it gave him something grounding to focus on because, for the Sun, her declaration made him lightheaded. It was one thing to assume, to be sure of, and another thing entirely to have that suspicion confirmed, the conclusion said out loud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I... You believed us and began planning very quickly. You didn't... Didn't seem overly surprised," Eugene stuttered, looking everywhere but the girl's face. "And the plan... 'Flynnigan Ryder and the Golden Lagoon'. He did something similar except with gems."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Silence. Eugene held his breath, waiting, thinking. He hated this, no matter how smug he might've felt for outsmarting her. He hated that it was her who betrayed them, who was working with Mother. He hated </span>
  <em>
    <span>himself </span>
  </em>
  <span>for simply suspecting her, even if that suspicion turned out correct.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I... I hoped I was wrong." He clenched his fists and a small, amused smile formed on Cassandra's lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "But then, I walked right into your trap. How embarrassing. I thought that, if someone, it would be Varian who figures it out. Never thought those stories would be useful for anything." She leaned forward, propping her chin on the back of her now interlaced hands, setting her elbows above her knees. "But you know what? I'm still sure you can't figure everything out. Like, why Mother trusts me. She wouldn't suddenly trust one of her products to be telling the truth, would she now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene needed a few seconds before the meaning of her words got to him. He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. She couldn't be implying what he thought she was implying. That would mean...</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "This isn't the first time you've spied for her," he whispered, voice cracking at the last words. She gave no acknowledgment but somehow, that was all he needed for an answer. He stumbled back as if hit and pressed his fists to his chest. "How... How long?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She thought for a moment, scratching the side of her neck. "I don't think I remember a time when I </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn't </span>
  </em>
  <span>her spy."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene inhaled sharply. She's been a traitor for years, in that case. That was way too long for him. That also meant that she knew about everything for years and for those years, she stood by and watched their siblings get sent to their deaths. Every two months, another sibling left. Every two months, she didn't do anything, gave no indication that she cared nearly as much as she should've.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You knew about this and you helped her anyway?" Eugene felt tears sting his eyes and he dug his nails into his palms. Even though he suspected her, even though he set a trap for her he still hoped she was innocent but now, now that she came out with that information? He felt like he didn't even know her. She always seemed caring towards the other kids, he was sure she would've taken even one death harshly — well, as harshly as she was capable of. When they told her, thinking it was new information for her, that should've been a red flag. She took it way too easily, didn't she now? She hadn't shed a single tear. "You stood by and... and... and let them get slaughtered?! Have you ever even cared for us?! Or are you like Mother and Sister?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Suddenly, she got up. He took a step back, already regretting what he had said. The words left his mouth without him thinking. It was foolish of him to scream and to scream those exact accusations.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She stomped over to him, a scowl revealing her teeth, and caught his shirt, a little below the collar. Cassandra pushed him against the well, receiving a yelp from him. No one could ever call the girl weak, that was sure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> compare me to her. Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>accuse me of not loving my family. You have no idea what it was like, seeing all of them off, knowing they will die," she hissed, fury shining in her eyes. Eugene gulped, gripping around his pockets nervously. Then, her face softened a tone and she slowly lowered him onto the ground. "And all of that to help you and Rapunzel escape and live."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene rubbed his neck, watching her face cautiously. Gears and cogs turned in his head as he tried to take the information in. What he would give to have Varian there to help him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You set up Knight and told us Faith hasn't left yet. You wanted us to learn ourselves, huh?" He ran his fingers through his hair as Cassandra gradually relaxed. "You </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>want us to live, that seems clear. Otherwise, you would've kept hiding the truth. But why did you start spying for Mother?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Why not?" She shrugged, backing away and dropping back onto the bed. Eugene didn't move from under the wall and watched her. "I volunteered, too. Well, more like sold myself, but the point still stands." Then, her glare returned and she tightened her fingers on the bed cover until her knuckles were white. "And it was all to prepare for this escape, idiot! From your little Flynn stories, you should know that the best way to get information is from the inside. That's why I ended up offering the deal to her."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "That... that's risky, isn't it?" Cassandra snorted but it wasn't a particularly amused one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Not really. I may not be as great as Varian but my scores are still quite a bit higher than average. I'm a fine product, you see. She's put a lot into me and she cares more for profit than rules. She wouldn't harvest me prematurely until absolutely necessary." She paused for a moment, a small, proud smirk appearing on her face for a split second. Then, she lifted up two fingers. "I made sure to ask for two things. One, to not be shipped if I cooperated. Two, rewards for my cooperation."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene furrowed his brows. "What kind of rewards?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Various junk." She leaned forward and her tone shifted as if she was talking about some conspiracy: "If it wasn't available in the house, she secured it for me from the outside. As long as it was safe, that is."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The boy gasped quietly. Outside? To be fair, he did sometimes catch glimpses of her with things he didn't recognize but he didn't think anything of it, telling himself he had imagined it. Now, though, it made sense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "But... why? I mean, sure, it's really cool and stuff but I'm guessing nothing that could help us escape wasn't something she considered 'safe', right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I was exploring the outside, in a way. Everything she gave me was dated but it was still decent research, ya' know?" Then, she smiled and put her fingertips together over her knees. "I also got the actual tracker from her."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eugene gasped and was about to say something when the door cracked open behind him. He froze for a moment and slowly looked over his shoulder to see Varian stepping in the room, as always holding Ruddiger. The nine-year-old squinted at them, suspicion written out on his face clear as the sun, and walked over to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Rapunzel sent me to check up on you," he said and glanced between them. "What're you talking about?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> A million thoughts ran through Eugene's mind as to what to tell him. The truth? A lie? What kind of lie? No, Varian probably wouldn't believe him with the way he was eyeing the two oldest siblings. How much should he tell the younger, then? Cassandra cut off his dilemma as she stood up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I work extra for Mother to get things from the outside. Among those things, I got the tracker and I was hoping you could conjure up some device to disable them without alerting Mother." She looked at Varian who was staring at her, eyes furrowed and focused. "Could you do that, kid?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Varian knew something was up when Cassandra and Eugene separated from the rest of the kids. Rapunzel did too but told him to wait a bit before investigating. But, well, he wasn't letting them skip too much of their chores, no matter how important their talk could be. He waited for maybe five minutes before, after telling Rapunzel where he was going, darting back into the house to look for them. And although they weren't yelling, their voices gave away where they were. One of the bedrooms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> When he entered, he found Eugene standing next to a wall and Cassandra sitting on his bed. They looked to be discussing something that shocked the mind out of the older boy as he was wide-eyed with his mouth open. Then, when Cassandra spoke up, Varian knew why but didn't show his surprise as much as Eugene, a simple 'oh' sufficing. There were more important matters at hand to worry about, after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Depends on what you have. Having the tracker is definitely helpful, though." He came closer and looked between the two older siblings. Eugene let out a relieved, though somewhat startled, sigh while Cassandra gave the nine-year-old a small smile. There was something they weren't telling him, he felt. Varian turned to the girl. "What did you do for Mother to get stuff like that?" Then, he realized something. "Wait, she wouldn't give you the tracker in normal circumstances since you shouldn't know about it. How'd you get it then?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cassandra's face fell a bit and she looked to Eugene as if seeking advice. He stood still for a moment before shrugging and nodding slightly, an uncertain smile on his lips. Varian glanced between them, confused, as the girl sighed and tilted her head to the left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Alright, I'll tell you. I've actually been Mother's spy for a few years and for my cooperation, she's given me rewards, including the tracker. Well, okay, she only showed me the tracker but I 'accidentally'," she made air quotes with her fingers, "lost it before having to give it back."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Varian stared at her, processing, before gasping. He didn't know what he expected but he knew it wasn't this. From what she said, it was obvious that she knew about the whole 'human-trafficking' business long before Rapunzel and Eugene went to the gate. He wasn't sure if he liked what that implied but he tightened his fingers on Ruddiger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "So..." he started carefully and found Cassandra's eyes. She held his gaze with what seemed to be a glimmer of a challenge. What challenge, he wasn't sure. "You knew. About the selling of our siblings. And you didn't do anything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I couldn't, really. You should understand that better than that bimbo." She jerked her thumb in Eugene's direction who scoffed, offended. A ghost of an amused smile formed on Varian's face and he nodded slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She had a point. Even now, with five people in on the truth and planning and training, they still needed time to form and execute an escape. And, well, he needed to make the device, or at least try. The alternative, as they already knew, was either breaking them or cutting them out. He assumed the first option was out because Mother would likely be notified if a tracker was damaged. Then there was the cutting thing. Cutting meant blood and he didn't want blood anywhere near him unless it was concealed in a body. It made him nauseous to see the crimson substance. That meant he was condemned to making a disabling device with no real experience in that field. Sounded easy enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Alright... but I need to see the things you have later. And to have you stop giving Mother insight on our plans. Give her fake news, if you must. The point is to not give her new information on what we're doing but keep the possibility of getting new things. Do you get it?" He stared at Cassandra intently. While he still wasn't sure what to think of her spy position he did realize he could use it to their benefit, as long as Mother didn't stay informed about everything. He was relieved when Cassandra cracked a smile and nodded. Then, Varian pointed to the door. "Alright, we can talk more later. Right now, there's some laundry with your names on it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He chuckled at Eugene's audible groan and crossed to the door. While doing chores, he would have plenty of time to plan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Cassandra groaned quietly as she pushed the bed away from the wall. She didn't let Varian help her so he just stood behind her, drying his hair with a white towel. He was almost bursting with excitement, every other matter concerning Cassie being a spy be damned because he was going to actually built something. Better yet, he was going to create something new from scratch, the only reference being the tracking device. No one could blame him for the huge grin he wore at a time like this, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> It was the free time before bed. While he took a shower, the trio talked alone and didn't give him any insight what about but he could guess it was about Cassandra. And now, she was pulling away a board from the floor behind her bed to give him the rewards she's gotten over the years. He could almost cry from the joy he was feeling about the work he was going to perform.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Here, take anything you might need," Cassandra said, moving aside to make Varian space at the compartment. His heart pounded as he knelt down, the girl giving him an amused and knowing smile. He dug his hands into the hole, looking through the contents with wonder. What wasn't there!</span>
</p><p>
  <span> There were some candy containers, electronics he didn't know the names for, toys, a radio, even a nutcracker, and many more. He sifted through the objects with amazement, picking them up and inspecting them, a million ideas already popping up in his head. Then, at the bottom of the compartment, buried under everything else, he found a small box. He plucked it from between the items and opened it to reveal a small, metal sphere. His eyes widened and he looked to Cassandra for confirmation and she nodded with a small smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "That's it. That's the tracker." Varian carefully picked it up, not wanting to drop it, and held it close to his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "It's tiny! I mean, we already knew it's small but it's totally different when you actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>see it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you know?" Cassandra chuckled into her hand and agreed as he returned to examining the device. It would be hard to work it out without proper tools but he was sure he could do something with its help, no matter how hard it may be. Most of the other things the girl has gathered he also thought of uses for. "Yeah, I think I can work with it but I still need one thing..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What is it?" Cassandra prompted for the answer. Varian bit his lower lip and looked through the items again, putting the tracker back in its box and assuring himself of what he was missing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I'll need an instant camera, if possible. I mean, I need a part of it but we don't want Mother figuring it out." He slipped the box with the tracker into his pocket and began picking out everything he thought he could use. A shiver of excitement ran up his spine because </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally, he could make something more than a useless contraption</span>
  </em>
  <span>! "I'll get to work right away."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> It's been two days since Cass was revealed as the spy. They didn't tell Lance and Varian was working on the disabling device whenever he had time — well, besides the night when Rapunzel forced him to get some sleep. He's been quite engaged in the project, babbling about it when the trio tried to pull him away from it. Luckily, he still had enough control over his tongue that he didn't blurt it out when around anyone else. And although he tried to hide it, Rapunzel could see how he fiddled with his hands when he couldn't work on the device, how he longed to be back in the library. The girl was very happy to see him so excited about something, even at such a grim time. Back to Cassandra, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel was in denial at first but Eugene coaxed her into believing. However, that didn't mean she fully trusted Cassandra after that antic. Of course, she tried to understand when she was told that it was all to prepare for this escape and that there was little Cassandra could do before. She really did but that didn't sweeten the bitter feeling of betrayal and frustration that she didn't do anything when their siblings were sent to their deaths. Apparently, Eugene had a similar reaction, although with more screaming. But alas, that seemed to barely make a dent in his trust while Rapunzel was now as careful as possible with how she acted around Cassandra. She was sure the other girl noticed it but didn't comment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Another thing was that she had her own research, with a bit of help from Varian before he was completely swept away by assembling the device — that is, a few days prior to him receiving his materials. And today, on a meeting with the whole five, she was going to present what she's gathered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They were in the back of the library, Varian still working on the disabling device. Rapunzel was baffled by how far he appeared to be in progress. He's only been working for two days but he was already assembling things, the tracker put aside instead of still being inspected. He didn't even have the proper tools!</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Where'd he get that stuff?" Lance asked, pointing a look at the materials Varian had on the table. The nine-year-old grunted something in response, not even glancing up from his work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Mother's room but that's not what we're here for," Cassandra said, turning to Rapunzel. "You wanted to say something?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yeah, yeah!" The girl put a piece of paper on the table. It was a plan of the top floor of the house, the one with the bedrooms, drawn by her in black. She held a red marker in her hand and pointed to a line that represented a wall. "With Varian, I noticed that Mother disappears every day, around eight p.m. I could never find her anywhere. That means... that there's a secret room somewhere in the house and I know where." She circled the corner that Mother's office and the washroom in her and the babies' room connected at. Then, she drew over the line that represented the wall between them. "This isn't just a wall, you see? Mother always disappears in either the washroom or her office so I measured the walls inside and outside the room."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "And what did you come up with?" Eugene asked, setting his hands on the table and leaning closer to the paper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "They were different. From the hallway, there's about ten more of my steps' worth of space. On one side of that space is a wall and on the other, a bookshelf. I think there's a secret room right there and hidden doors from both sides." For a moment, Varians looked to be paying some attention though he still didn't lift his head. Instead, he put up his hand for a few seconds while he spoke:</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "My bets are on a bookshelf being movable." Then he returned to focusing only on his work. Rapunzel chuckled quietly and turned to the others. Cassandra and Eugene were inspecting her drawing carefully, nodding to each other and whispering. Lance, on the other hand, looked confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "But what use does the room have?" he asked, leaning on the table. Varian quickly batted him away with his hand, complaining that he was too close to the delicate process the nine-year-old was performing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "It's probably where she reports to HQ," Cassandra explained and Rapunzel's heart beat faster. She had similar theories and, since Cass was the spy, she was likely saying the truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "H... Q?" The color drained from Lance's face. "What's that?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel bit her lower lip and tugged at her hair. Eugene answered for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Headquarters. That's probably where our siblings and people like Sister Caine came from." The ten-year-old gulped audibly. Rapunzel sympathized with him. She looked at Cassandra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Cass, did you already know of this?" She felt awful asking that but she had to know. Relief flowed through her when the older girl scoffed and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Nah, but I'm not surprised." That's when Lance hit the tabletop with his open palms, earning some non-vulgar curses from Varian who shot out to catch anything that was at risk of falling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We need to go in it then!" he said, not exactly yelling but definitely raising his voice. "If it's a way of communicating the outside, there have to be some clues about where Faith and the rest are!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "If you were listening," Varian spat, rearranging his things, "you would realize it's a </span>
  <em>
    <span>secret </span>
  </em>
  <span>room. It needs a key because even though you and Eugene have an astonishing talent for lockpicking, we don't know what lock it is."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Besides, there's little to gain from investigating it," Cassandra spoke up, turning towards Lance. "If there is a communication device in there, it likely only connects to HQ. Mother probably doesn't know where our siblings are and it's way too risky to take such a small chance. We don't know of the security in the secret room and we can get tracked. The risks highly outweigh the benefits, if there even is any."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Still...!" Lance's lower lip trembled and he dug his nails into the table, leaving barely noticeable marks. Rapunzel's heart broke for his desperation to have even a sliver of knowledge about their siblings. What he didn't know was that there was nothing to know. They were dead, after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She took a few steps towards him and gently took his hands from the table and held them in her own, so small and frail in comparison to his, a sad smile on her face. Tears shined in his eyes though he tried to blink them away. Rapunzel squeezed his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Lance. I also want them back but there is no benefit to breaking into Mother's secret room. So please, don't be reckless." Her voice was soft as she rubbed the top of his left hand at the base of his fingers with her thumb soothingly. His lips quivered and he looked away, taking his hands from her and putting them in his pockets. He turned and began walking to the door, mumbling a farewell. Rapunzel looked after him sadly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Alright, now I have something to show you." Varian's voice startled the girl and she was surprised to see him carefully putting his device-in-progress to the side. She could see her own shock mirrored on the faces of her older siblings. None of them were expecting the nine-year-old to take a break in his work when he didn't have to. This had to be important.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> She stalked closer to the table as Varian got up and walked over to the bookshelves. He looked for a moment, mumbling and running his hand over the spines of the books before picking one out. The boy brought it back and dropped it on the table next to his other things. Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra leaned forward to look at the volume.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> It was a paperback book titled 'Engineering For Kids'. Rapunzel could tell it was a simple book solely by the pictures of paper and cardboard projects on the cover. It wasn't something Varian would really benefit from at this point, and she wondered why he was showing it to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> At their unsure faces, Varian rolled his eyes and opened the book to the very first page, the one with the printing information and whatnot. However, there was something else. On a blank spot, a small, paper rectangle was stuck on. It had a drawing of a monkey's contour in black in the middle of a circle that had a few gaps, creating lines of different lengths. Above the picture, the words 'EX LIBRIS' were written. Underneath it was the name 'Demanitus'.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> While the trio inspected the label, Varian left in search of another book. It didn't take him long to return with a thin book on morse code which he set next to the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Look." He put a finger on one of the lines that made up the circle and ran his forefinger over it, lifting it on the gaps. Rapunzel's eyes widened and Varian riffled through the other book's few pages. He opened it in a random spot and pointed at one of the letters. "It's morse code. And this isn't the only book that belonged to this 'Demanitus'. There's many, all around the library!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He threw his hands out as if to emphasize his point. Cassandra nodded and shot out to look for some other book. They watched her and when she returned and opened the tome she was holding, it had the same sticker on the first page.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "So you've noticed it too." Varian grinned at her. She nodded and ran her hand over the monkey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We should find all of them and decode them. It might have some hidden message."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> It took a while to gather all the books with the emblem they could find. As Varian said, there were a few and they had to stack them upon each other to fit them on the table. They all had morse code besides one that was circled by a continuous line. The four of them decoded the rest: 'R.U.N.', 'D.O.U.B.T.', 'D.A.N.G.E.R.', 'T.R.U.T.H.', 'H.A.R.V.E.S.T.', 'M.O.N.S.T.E.R.', 'F.A.R.M.', and 'P.R.O.M.I.S.E.'. The last one, to the delight of Eugene, was in a Flynn Ryder book — 'The Adventure Log Of Flynnigan Ryder'. It was one even Cassandra had read, unlike most of the other Flynn tomes, containing many shorter stories in contrast to the adventures that used whole books to be told. What Rapunzel additionally loved about it was the fact that it gave Flynn a chameleon companion named Pascalion — she nicknamed him Pascal and he was the reason she adored the lizards. Well, that, as well as their color-changing ability.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What's with some of these?" Varian frowned, looking at the paper he wrote the decoded words on. Rapunzel froze. "Monster? Harvest? Farm? I get the other ones, kind of, but what's up with these? And what's with the one with no code?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I dunno. Maybe it's something like cryptonyms?" Cassandra asked. Rapunzel blinked, confused by the word but Varian nodded slowly in understanding. The oldest girl pointed at the words in question as she explained her theory: "'Monster' would be humans that sell and buy us. 'Harvest' could be us being sold so 'farm' could mean the house."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I guess," Varian sighed and carefully pushed the books away from himself, putting his device materials there instead. "I'll leave you to continue investigating that. I'd like to finish this as soon as possible."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Eugene was very excited to learn about the books. He hadn't even noticed the label when he read the 'Adventure Log' before. The word it had, 'promise', was also something he thought about. All the other terms somehow played into a bigger message about the truth and 'promise' just seemed out of place. What could it mean? Maybe it was a promise of safety if they figure it out. Eugene hoped it was that and not the contrasting alternative.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They went to a different part of the library with the labeled books, leaving Varian with his work. Honestly, it was shocking how quickly the boy figured out what to do with no prior experience. Though, to be fair, there was a reason he was called a genius, even by Mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "So, what're we gonna do about the books?" he asked, setting down the books he carried. The boy would like to say his was the biggest but in reality, Cassandra insisted on carrying </span>
  <em>
    <span>five </span>
  </em>
  <span>of them which left him with three and Rapunzel with one. The younger girl was determined to help them carry them so she got the lightest book, the one about 'engineering'. Yeah, Eugene heard Varian scoff about the projects inside having nothing to do with actual engineering, so what? "What do they mean, honestly?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I think they mean we have an ally on the outside." Rapunzel beamed as she reopened some of the books. Cassandra scrunched up her nose at the other girl's blinding smile but Eugene couldn't help but grin as well. "Mr. Demanitus is the previous owner of these books, that's what the ex libris means, right? So he snuck in some clues for us to help us figure out the truth! Isn't that great?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I dunno, Raps. We don't know if he's even still alive," Cassandra pointed out, looking at the books. She put her finger on one of them, right under the publishing date. "This is the oldest one, published in twenty-fifteen. That's thirty years ago. He might be long dead."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Rapunzel puffed out her cheeks in frustration and Eugene chuckled involuntarily, earning a glare from her. He deserved, he supposed as he glanced at the books.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Is there anything in common between these books? Not genre or author, maybe publishing?" he questioned. Cassandra shook her head, leaning on the table and taking out her pocket watch. Eugene's been jealous of the device for</span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>but now, knowing how she probably got it, he wasn't sure if he wanted it anymore. If the only way to get fancy things like that from Mother was spying for her and watching his siblings go to their deaths? Sorry, but he'll pass, thank you very much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We should head downstairs, help with dinner. Let's get Varian and go," she said, repocketing the watch. Rapunzel and Eugene nodded and began returning the books to the shelves, the boy trying to remember where he put them. He had a feeling there was more to the books than just hinting at the truth.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello again!</p><p>I hope you enjoyed. And I know, it took Ray like, what, six years to create the device, buuut... Varian already had access to what he needed so he didn't need time for that aaaand he's a little genius that can recreate an automaton after seeing it once</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. VI</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lance commits crimes while the others plan</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lance trusted his siblings. Really, he did. Mistrust had nothing to do with why he was marching through the hallways, looking for Mother. Honest! He still trusted the trio and Varian with his life but something was going on. He wanted to see the room, hoping it would clear up some things and give him clues about where the rest of his family was.</p>
<p>
  <span> Now he knew how Cassandra felt when Varian got a higher score than her. It was frustrating to not know something while others do. Yes, he had a feeling something was being hidden from him because why else would they not include him in all of their talks? If they trusted him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>trusted him, they wouldn't need to have him skip out. Of course, there was the argument that it would be suspicious if he began spending all his time with them but they could at least summarize to him what they talked about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> From what he could see, Varian was also sometimes excluded. Now that was just plain stupid. Hiding anything from Varian who is making the device that would make escaping possible? All while knowing he could get very testy very quickly when kept in the dark? Had they lost their minds?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He shook away the thoughts as he heard Mother's voice. She was talking to... Juniper? Yeah, that's right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Berry, dear, could you take this to the library?" Mother was holding a book and Juniper nodded, reaching for it. That's when he saw his chance. He sped through the hallway, 'accidentally' bumping into Mother. It wasn't hard to swipe the master key from her pocket as she was distracted by keeping her balance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Sorry, Mother, I'm in a hurry!" When she turned to complain, he was already behind the corner, slipping the key into his own pocket. Never before was he so grateful to have a concerning talent in stealing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Lance slowed, passing his siblings until he was in front of the office door. He slipped into the room and carefully closed the door behind himself. He looked around, his eyes almost immediately darting towards and locking on the bookshelves. His steps sounded in the unusual silence as he walked over quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span> My bets are on a bookshelf being movable </span>
  </em>
  <span>— that's what Varian had said so it was probably right. The boy inspected the shelves and attempted to simply pull one away from the wall. Except that didn't work, no matter how hard he grunted and groaned so he let go of that idea in favor of working his mind a little, something he wasn't particularly used to. He usually left the thinking to Varian.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> That's when he saw it. One of the bookshelves was thinner but at first, he thought nothing of it. Now, he saw that there seemed to be a hole in the one to its right, almost completely hidden save for a gap above the thin bookshelves edge. It was too clean to be unintentional so he tried the only thing he could think of. He pushed the smaller bookshelf into the hole — it quickly moved like on wheels, sucked in the shaft.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He gasped softly at the door that was revealed. Rapunzel was right. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>a secret room. With shaking fingers, he fumbled with the key and turned it. He flinched at the low click of the lock and felt dizzy as he pressed the handle. The boy pulled the bookshelf and closed the door behind him and turned to the secret room. It was...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "A storage room?" he whispered to himself as he glanced at the closets lining the walls. Nothing out of the ordinary, it seemed. Well, until he dropped his gaze to the floor and saw a handle. He knelt down at it and pulled. It let go with a quiet 'pop' and he stumbled back before crawling back and peeking down the hole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> It was steps, leading into darkness. He frowned. Even if he went down, he wouldn't be able to see anything. He looked around and grabbed a lamp that stood on a shelf, matched laying next to it. He lit it and a small flame danced behind the glass, chasing away the darkness. The ten-year-old stepped down into the hidden... basement, Lance decided to call it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> As soon as he turned, he fell back and groaned, hitting his back on the stairs. Not trusting his legs to keep him up, he sat on one of the steps, wild gaze running from spot to spot. There were more shelves, some taken up by books while the rest... the rest was full of toys. Toys he recognized. Toys he knew the names of. Toys he knew the owners of. Toys of his siblings that left. They were all here, even Knight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> The trio was right. They didn't get adopted. If they did, none of their toys would be at the house. No one else forgot theirs besides Faith which meant Mother took them away at the gate. He shuddered at the thought. If children are being sold, they should at least be allowed to take their favorite toys with them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> After a few deep breaths, he got up, holding on to the stairs for support and gripping the lamp tightly. He still had to look for clues about Faith and the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> When he decided he could walk again, he crept over to the shelves, picking up every other toy in a flood of nostalgia and memories. It was bittersweet, both remembering all the great times he had with his siblings and realizing that they could very well be in grave danger. When he set the last toy down, he made a quiet vow to save them, just as he wanted to from the beginning, the difference being that now it seemed like he was promising directly to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He steered himself away from the toys though with every step he felt needles stab his heart, one for each of his siblings. The boy lifted the lamp to look at the books, squinting against the darkness that the small flame couldn't dissipate. He ran his fingers over the spines of the tomes, muttering their titles he had no understanding of under his breath. One didn't have one written so he plucked it from the shelf, assuming the headline would be revealed on the front cover. It was a calendar or notebook of some sort, filled with numbers in neat rubrics. Some of the numbers, he recognized as the numbers tattooed on his family's necks. He could only guess they were test scores. He had always thought it was odd that they had something resembling an ID number in them but no one's ever questioned it so he didn't either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> The ten-year-old found a few more notebooks like that, some obviously older than others by years. When he was looking for more, though, he almost dropped the lamp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He was staring at a machine of sorts, with buttons, levers, cables, and other pieces only Varian could name. It was intimidating in its bulky, towering form and Lance couldn't suppress an audible gulp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Communication device</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought, biting the insides of his cheeks. Once again, the trio's speculations were correct. But then, a thought occurred to him which he tried to ineffectively bat away. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They know more than they let on</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He wasn't sure why the absurd idea appeared in his head, he had to guess it happened subconsciously. It might've been influenced by how the trio emphasized how screwed they would be if Mother finds out so he had to put on his best act and act natural around her. They never said what would happen to them, though. Rapunzel appeared to avoid the topic like fire and Eugene and Cassandra were also unwilling to clarify any questions with a clear response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Further delusional theories were cut off by steps in what Lance guessed was the office. He froze, suppressing a scream as panic blared in his head. His first instinct was to chuck the lamp at the floor yet he tried to remain rational and tightened his grip. That would cause a fire. A fire would cause Mother to come. Mother coming would mean he was found out and he would be at fault for ruining the chances of their escape... or worse. He shivered at the thought and came up to the stairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Rapunzel said there should be an entrance from the bathroom on the other side of the wall. Since he pulled the bookshelf and locked the door behind himself, he should be able to sneak through there. That is, only if Mother didn't come into her office because she noticed the lack of her key and wanted to investigate. In that case, he failed big time. His only chance was that he got lucky and she was only doing some papers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> Gothel's head shot up at the knocking on her door. She was working and hasn't requested for any of the kids to come, even Cassandra, so she wasn't sure what it could be about. However, it was most likely harmless, one of her children wanting help. She put on a trained smile and came up to the door, opening it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Do you need anything, Berry?" she asked, looking down at the five-year-old. The girl put her hand out, Gothel's master key on her open palm. Gothel's eyes widened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I found this on the floor, Mother," said Juniper and Gothel grabbed the key as if it was glass. Slipping it into the pocket in her dress's skirt, she couldn't help but wonder how she managed to drop it. There were no holes in her pockets, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> She bent down and caressed Juniper's hair with a soft smile. The girl grinned brightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Thank you, Berry. Go along now, dinner won't make itself."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> Varian was satisfied with how far along he was with the disabling device. If he just got his hands on a strobe light, he would be basically done. Just like the others, he was surprised with how well he was doing but putting the pieces together, even without proper tools, seemed like something as natural as breathing. Of course, having to work around Mother and the other kids was a setback however it wasn't serious. After all, he was already known for spending a lot of time in the library. So long as Kiera and Catalina were kept away by chores or Rapunzel and the rest, he remained mainly undisturbed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> When he entered the dining room alongside the trio, he immediately knew something was off. It didn't take much for him to notice what — Lance was missing. He could tell the rest saw it as well, with Cassandra marching away to check the kitchen and Rapunzel gasping softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Theories popped up in his mind and he quickly focused his attention on the most plausible one. Lance went to Mother's office. Frustrating but predictable. He was shocked he didn't foresee it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Clutching Ruddiger, careful to not crush the device he hid in the toy's belly as to always have it on him but without the risk of dropping it in plain view, Varian turned and ran past Rapunzel and Eugene back into the hall. If he was right, which he most certainly was after Cassandra informed them of the kitchen lacking a ten-year-old, Lance was leaving Mother's room. Varian was bound to find him if he took the route there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He bumped into him on the stairs. Lance was looking around like prey expecting to be jumped every second. It was likely he felt that way, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "What were you thinking?" Varian hissed, tightly gripping Lance's sleeve to keep him from leaving. The older boy gulped and scratched the base of his neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I... I just had to know, Varian. And now... I want to talk to you. Without the trio. Alone." The nine-year-old unsuccessfully tried to mask his surprise. His eyes widened and he stared with an open mouth for a moment before shaking his head and letting Lance go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian rubbed his eye with his fist and glanced at Rapunzel bolting towards them, Eugene and Cassandra in tow. The first girl was clenching her fists with a pout and eyes gleaming with concern while Eugene was frowning, obviously frustrated. Cassandra, on the other hand, looked furious, hands balled into fists so tightly her knuckles were white, her face red, and glare shooting metaphorical lighting bolts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Where did you go?" she growled, stopping in front of Lance. He took a step back, putting up his hands defensively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Secret basement."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "How'd you get in?" Rapunzel asked, tugging at a strand of her hair. For a split moment, Lance flashed a proud smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I pickpocketed Mother's key." His pride was gone and he went back to hunched shoulders when Cassandra scowled at him. Eugene appeared to have ignored the mood the older girl was setting as he stepped forward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Good job, Lancey!" Cassandra pushed him back with a snarl before turning back to Lance. In the meantime, Varian found his way to the spot next to Rapunzel. When Cassandra opened her mouth, probably to scream, he gathered up some bravery and cut in before words left her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Guys, let's talk about this </span>
  <em>
    <span>later</span>
  </em>
  <span>," he said, pointing a look at their siblings, some of which stopped whatever they were doing to observe their fight. Cassandra took a few deep breaths and ran her fingers through her hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Fine," she barked and glared at Lance, jabbing a finger in his chest. "But you're not getting off the hook."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> "So, what did you want to talk about that you can't say it in front of the rest? We don't have much time," Varian questioned from the sink before he began brushing his teeth. He hoped he wouldn't need to say something until he finished. Lance fumbled with his fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "In the secret room, I saw everyone's toys. You know, Knight and the rest," he began. Varian listened, determined to not let anything slip his radar. "I also saw the communication device. It was big and had a lot of switches and buttons. You should've seen it but that's beside the point." He took a deep breath, putting his palms together. "I think the trio might be hiding something from us."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian sputtered and spat out his toothbrush as he began coughing. Lance waited out the younger boy's fit, unsure what to do when the nine-year-old was spluttering into the sink and leaning on its edge. Then Varian was wheezing, trying to catch his breath. It was not something he would call an even remotely pleasant experience, not being able to breathe. He wiped his mouth with the back of his palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "What do you mean?" he said hoarsely and started filling up his cup with water. The boy decided he would skip on a proper brushing of his teeth this one time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I mean, why do they keep saying we're screwed if Mother or Sister find out? Like, I get it, they can sell us, but they keep saying it like... I dunno, we'd..." Lance paused for a moment, before continuing in a weak voice.: "... die?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian was trying to drink. The water spilled from his mouth at the words. Luckily, he was already above the sink. He whipped around to face Lance, making a defensive face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "They wouldn't lie to us about something so big. Our siblings are alive and we'll save them. Stop talking nonsense." The boy wiped his face with a towel and, taking his cup and toothbrush, tried to push past Lance to exit the bathroom. However, the ten-year-old stood his ground, which wasn't particularly hard. Lance could likely carry at least two Varians at a time. "Lance, you can be trying to pick a fight all you want but don't drag me into it!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "But Varian, how did they know they were bad people?" Varian froze in his efforts, processing the words. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his brother had a point. How </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>they know the people were bad, especially Rapunzel who always saw the best in people unless there was none? Just seeing a transaction wouldn't necessarily clue them in on a person's morals or even that it wasn't a simple adoption fee. Eugene wasn't one to jump to a conclusion like that without enough evidence either. There was also the fact of how uncomfortable Rapunzel and sometimes Eugene looked when talking about their siblings' fates. Now that he thought about it, it didn't entirely add up to everything they had said being true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Look, we don't have to start a fight or anything. We can just talk but I just need to make sure. If we confront them, there's no way Rapunzel will keep a straight face. That's how we'll know. Alright?" Varian nodded numbly before a fierce fire flamed up in his chest. The trio better not have been lying. If they had... Well, suffice to say he wouldn't be happy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> The clock ticked in the dining room as the five waited for the first one to speak. Varian sat beside Lance while the trio stood on the opposite side of the table, Cassandra visibly fuming with anger. Finally, she slammed her hands on the wood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Did she notice?" she growled, and though her question was obviously directed at Lance, Varian couldn't help but flinch. Bile rose in his throat, yet it didn't drench out the frustration burning in his chest. Lance shook his head, flashing a proud smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Probably not and I already returned it so no worries." He paused for a moment, his grin faltering. "Well, I think, at least."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "This is exactly why you shouldn't have...!" Cassandra didn't need to finish her sentence. She ran her hand down her face. "Use your brain a little, idiot! What if she has an alarm there or, or, I dunno, a camera!? Mother and Sister would find out and then you... No, all of us would be..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> It was Varian's turn to stand as he slammed his fist into the table. Everyone's attention turned to him, the trio's eyes wide. They weren't expecting any reaction from him and especially not a violent one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "What would all of us be?" he seethed through his teeth. Cassandra looked taken aback and her rage appeared to have left her in an instant, like air from a balloon. Staring her in the eye, the boy got out of the bench and stood next to the short end of the table. "Come on, say it. Would we be... killed?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He had to force the last word out, already feeling tears welling up in his eyes. Rapunzel stifled a gasp with her hand as Cassandra gaped with her mouth open, shaking her head as in slow-motion. The boy didn't even acknowledge Eugene standing at the side, fully focused on the eldest girl. Her reaction was enough of an answer. He clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "You liars," he whispered, a cold edge to his voice. Rapunzel whimpered. "You liars. 'We don't know what happened to Faith after she got sold'? 'We'll save them'? What a load of rubbish, wouldn't you say?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "We can't save them, can we?" Lance's voice was trembling and quiet as he hid his head in his hands. "Because they're all... They're all..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> That's when tears started running down Rapunzel's face and she shakingly came up to Varian. She took his hands in hers as he stared at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." she said hoarsely. Varian turned to Lance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "You were right." His voice was hollow. "They really </span>
  <em>
    <span>were </span>
  </em>
  <span>lying to our faces." He looked back to Rapunzel, ripping his hands away from her and taking a step back. "What are you hiding? Spill it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rapunzel</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> She glanced and Cassandra and Eugene. The older boy gave an encouraging, yet sad, smile and she drew in a shaky breath. Words spilled out of her mouth like a waterfall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> When she was done, Rapunzel had to take a deep breath to calm down. Even though she poured sentences incredibly fast, both Lance and Varian appeared to have understood her. Well, as well as they could understand. Alright, fine. They appeared to have heard every word, she wasn't so sure about their understanding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Lance just stared, eyes wide, mouth agape, dumbfounded. His eyes did glisten with tears, though. Ah, so maybe she got through to him enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Varian, on the other hand... Well, Varian behaved how they could've predicted, that meaning: unpredictable. Sure, for a moment he shared Lance's bewildered expression but it didn't last more than a couple seconds. It quickly morphed into something darker, a blaze of anger lighting up in his eyes as he clenched his fists even harder. Rapunzel was sure he would draw blood in a moment. Then, he turned to Cassandra.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "So. You knew what would happen. All this time, you knew what would happen to Faith and all of our other siblings." He laughed a cold, empty chuckle and Rapunzel couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine. At the moment, the demons and Mother and Sister seemed like nothing compared to Varian. Cassandra's odd face clued in on her feeling similarly as she stepped backward. "You know, I thought I understood. If they were alive, there was hope of saving them. There was a point in biding your time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Then, Varian cocked his head and dug his empty stare into Rapunzel. She squirmed under it but didn't try to escape it. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>no escape from her brother's hurt. Because that's what it was. He was hurt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "And your brilliant plan was... to lead us into a world full of enemies we don't have a clue about?" He smiled softly as he stepped closer but there was something unrecognizable in his face even though he's given the same smile so many times before. It might've been the flames that were momentarily dimmed when he spoke but now reignited with a passion. The boy's smile morphed into a scowl as he threw his hands out. "It's an untold genius, isn't it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Rapunzel stumbled backward as pain erupted in her stomach. Cassandra caught her while Eugene shouted and jumped to Varian to calm him down as he panted. Lance appeared to have still been in a state of shock and he just watched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Rapunzel was engulfed in her own surprise as she stared down at her stomach, where her brother had hit her. She had had little hope for a calm reaction when she did bring up the courage to tell Varian but violence far exceeded her scenarios. She expected yelling, crying, and tantrums, not violence. It might've been simply because of how frail Varian appeared to be. And, yeah, he was weak when it came to stamina or ailments or wounds but he was surprisingly strong and endurant of pain when he wanted to. It seemed like this was a time he wanted to and Rapunzel couldn't say it didn't hurt her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Her head shot up at the sound of sniffling. Eugene was helping Varian ease to the floor as he wiped aggressively at his eyes with his sleeves. Lance was at his side now as well, squeezing Varian's hand and stroking his back. Right. For Lance, siblings came first to himself, especially younger ones. Rapunzel could guess he was shoving his own feeling aside for later to take care of Varian.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Sighing quietly, Rapunzel gently caught Cassandra's hand and lead her forward so that they could both kneel down in front of the youngest. That's when she heard him choke back a sob and let out a shuddering breath, trying to even it out to speak. And speak he did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Do you really think so little of us?" he whispered. Rapunzel held her breath and reached out with her hand but left it hovering over the boy's head. "You need me, don't you? You trust me, right? Then why do you... I mean..." sob, "... You wanted to protect us. But we would have to find out either way, wouldn't we? You wanted to lead us into a demon world with no knowledge. That's... That's what the books were about. I should've known but I trusted you. Why... Why didn't you trust me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> There was a moment of silence as Rapunzel dropped her hand while Varian sniffled and sobbed. The girl took it to ponder over what he said. It was true, she wanted to protect them. That's why she didn't tell them — yet — even though she figured it was cruel to keep him hopeful. She was going to, eventually, she just wasn't sure when she was ready. He should understand saying something like that didn't come easily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I know I'm not as smart as you guys but..." Rapunzel turned to Lance as he trailed off. After a few seconds, he picked back upon his thought, voice frail as a dried leaf: "But... We're family, right? Siblings? I... I just want you to have a little faith in me– us... Is it that hard to believe in us as we believe in you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> He sniffled and let a few tears run down his cheeks as Rapunzel covered her mouth with her hands, her own eyes becoming wet. She didn't realize they could take it that way. She hated to think they took it like that. She just wanted all of them to be happy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Come on, Lance," Varian said, standing up. Lance followed, lightly holding him by the shoulder to keep him steady. "I need some air and it seems like you're the only one I can trust right now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Still on the floor, Rapunzel watched them leave and disappear behind the doors. She felt an urge to apologize but she wasn't sure how to do it and to what extent they blamed her. When Eugene put a hand on her shoulder she looked to him for help. She furrowed her brows at the obvious 'I told you' playing on his lips and in his eyes, barely contained behind genuine concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "You're the one who didn't want to tell them in the first place, </span>
  <em>
    <span>even though</span>
  </em>
  <span> you knew how he could react," he said. Cassandra smacked his hand that wasn't touching Rapunzel. He didn't react much, fixated on Rapunzel. "We should apologize. All of us."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> Eugene should've known, should've tried to convince the girls to tell the whole truth earlier. But he didn't. He didn't because he was scared as well. Even though he wanted to tell Varian from the start, he knew Rapunzel had a point in her ‘He’s too young!’ talk. Especially with how attached Varian was to their family, there was no telling if he wouldn’t completely break down, even with a half-truth. And now, they paid for keeping secrets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> When she could stand up, Rapunzel bolted out of the dining room. He and Cassandra followed her outside where Varian was staring up at the evening sky, leaning slightly on Lance. Rapunzel slowed her pace until she stopped a couple meters away from them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Varian, Lance!" she called hesitantly, glancing over her shoulder. Eugene smiled and gave her a thumbs up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> The two younger boys turned to them, Lance’s expression unsure while Varian had his nose scrunched up in a small frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Rapunzel?" the nine-year-old questioned. She tugged at her hair and scratched the back of her neck before blurting:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I'm sorry! I just... I didn't think I was ready to tell you but I should've thought about how hard it would be for you.” She put her hands over her face, covering her eyes before moving one pinky to peek from behind it. “But thanks for trusting us before... this."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I apologize as well. Should've just told you myself, or made the girls do it." Eugene stepped forward, a bashful look in his eyes. Varian’s face softened and he pushed away from Lance to come closer to Rapunzel. There was still anger and hurt in his eyes but they got pushed aside by concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I– I'm sorry as well. For punching you. Are you alright?" He reached out his hands towards her and she caught them in her own with a small nod and smile. Then she pulled him into a hug and Varian appeared to have melted into her touch, returning the embrace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Now Lance came up, fidgeting with his fingers. He looked at Cassandra who crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "And I'm sorry for acting on my own. You have every right to be angry with me,” he said. After a moment of silence, playful sparkles ignited in his eyes and he added: “Doesn’t mean I regret it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Even Cass chuckled at the comment. She extended her hand to him and he grabbed it with a grin squeezing it. The girl forgave him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Forget it. I'll cover for you.” Her smile faltered a bit as she glanced at Eugene. He could guess she was thinking about the traitor fiasco. “And... I'm also sorry for... stuff I did."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Eugene didn’t want to ruin the comfortable silence that fell upon them. Sure, there was still some tension and anger sparking in the air but it was much better than the dining room. It was a type of acceptance though not necessarily forgiveness from the younger boys. But alas, there were important things to discuss. He clasped his hands together, bringing everyone's attention to himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Now, petty lies aside. You now know this is a matter of life or death. If we slip, we're dead meat. Even if we escape, the outside is terrifying, filled with nothing but danger if I were to guess," he said, staring straight at Varian and Lance. The ten-year-old's lip trembled a tad. "Are you still willing to help us?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Lance wiped his cheek with his palm and gave a crooked smile. "Well, who else is going to take care of you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Eugene grinned, amused. He was glad that even after everything and knowing what they knew, there was still a place for lighter moments. He turned to the other boy who untangled himself from Rapunzel's hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Varian?" The corners of his lips quirked up a tad in an attempt at a smile as he pushed the raven bangs from his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I mean, it's either help or throw the whole plan under the bus. And, yeah, I also want to finish the device. I'm in." Eugene sighed in relief, dramatically putting a hand over his heart. Oh, how he was glad to have the genius on their side. Rapunzel chuckled before her face hardened into a mask of seriousness and determination. It was so different from her usual smile Eugene couldn't help but stare when she spoke:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Then onto the next part of the plan: investigation." Lance frowned and tapped his lower lip with his index finger before pointing it at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "You mean the wall, right? What about the trackers?" Varian smirked, mischief going through his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I think I can cover that. I'll just need a few things."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>◈†◈</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> Cassandra was in Gothel's office, sitting at the desk with her feet propped up on it. She was swinging gently in the chair as Mother finished up organizing her papers. It was time for her report about her siblings' escape plan progress though she hasn't been saying the whole truth for quite a while. Today, she wasn't planning on being honest in the slightest. Well, besides a few crucial bits that </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "So, what did you want to talk about that's so important, dear?" Mother finally spoke, glancing at the girl. Cassandra cocked her head to the side and hummed a tune that made Gothel flinch. She smirked at the reaction before her neutral expression returned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Eugene is planning to kill you," she deadpanned. Mother's head snapped up and towards her, eyes a tad wider than usual. Still, she quickly regained her composure and gave a small smile, returning to her work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Ah, well, not surprising. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>be the easiest way to get me out of the equation. What else?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "He's gathering materials. A hammer, laundry powder, herbicide... Anything he thinks might be useful." Cassandra swung her legs off the desk, dropping them to the ground with a thud and stabilizing the chair. She began lightly tapping her toes in tune to the melody that Gothel hated so much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Along with the short rope?" Mother asked, her voice just slightly strained. Cassandra grinned and shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Yup. But just so you know, I tried to stop him. He even tried to hit me but I didn't let him. Just made sure he knows what I think about it." She tapped her cheek where Eugene had apparently tried to hit her. Yeah, right. Like he would ever build up the courage to do so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Very well. Poison... I'm guessing Varian might give some hints about that?" Mother put away the last thing and walked over to the desk, arms crossed over her chest. She towered over Cassandra but she didn't feel the least intimidated. This wasn't the first, or last, time the woman had done so but Cass had discovered she could get away with a lot of stuff. Trying to make her feel small just didn't work anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Probably," she said with a small snort. It would be hard </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>to get Varian's input on such a thing, even if it was completely unnecessary.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "My, he's always had such an intuition with chemicals, even if it was just diagrams." Gothel's smile softened with what looked like motherly love. That couldn't be more wrong, the girl had learned. What the caretaker really had on her mind was how valuable Varian would be as merchandise, definitely getting her some 'good Mom points' at HQ. Cassandra couldn't help but scowl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "You better not ship us out before the deadline," she barked out. Gothel laughed lightly as if she had just said a good, innocent joke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Don't worry, I remember our deal. They'll live until twelve."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Cass exhaled slowly and spoke again, just as she had planned before she entered the room:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "You can switch the chemicals if you want. I know where they are."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Oh?" Mother raised an eyebrow and walked around the desk to stand next to the girl. She smiled and you would never tell she wasn't a normal mom or that she was talking about a possible assassination of her. "Alright then, I'll take care of it tomorrow. Is that the end of your report?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "Yeah. Anything else you'd like to know?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "No, no." Gothel paused for a moment. "Ah, right. Let me tell you something in advance." She leaned down towards Cassandra and cupped her face before whispering into her ear: "I've had a notice from the higher-ups yesterday. A rescheduling happened. There will be no shipment next month."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Cassandra's eyes widened slightly. They had more time. That information was better than anything she would've ever expected to bring back from a talk with Mother. It was great, even. There was time for more elaborate planning, for testing Varian's device.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Then, she remembered what would be the next shipment in that case. Her lips stretched into a wide, amused smile and she stretched her arms behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "So the next one... January. Finally my turn, huh?"</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello!</p>
<p>I'm sorry this one took so long to come out — I returned to normal school instead of online so I have less time. I also couldn't find much motivation most days, either. But now it's out and oh, am I glad it is</p>
<p>I hope you liked it!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, if you made it this far... Thanks!</p><p>And since I need 'bout 38 kids in the 'orphanage' and the Tangled characters only make up like 13, one of which is dead now, feel free to leave names in the comments to help me fill up some of the empty spots</p></blockquote></div></div>
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